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Thursday 8th October 2026
Frederic Bazille:
A Painter of Modern Life
by
Sarah Burles

Frederic Bazille Self portrait 1865
Public domain
Frederic Bazille
La Page a Saint-Adresse 1865
Public domain, High Museum of Art, Atlanta
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Frédéric Bazille’s ‘Self Portrait’ of 1865 shows a tall, slim, bearded young artist, paint brush and palette in hand, turning confidently towards the viewer. He has an attitude of defiance and looks ready to challenge the Parisian art establishment of the day, as were his friends Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley. For a few years Frédéric Bazille did just that. His paintings of modern subjects, often created outside using vivid colours and capturing the effects of light, would have secured him an im portant place in the history of Impressionism, had it not been for his untimely death in 1870. He was killed just 28 years of age in the Franco Prussian war

Sarah Burles studied History of Art at Cambridge University before doing a master’s degree at University College London. She went on to have a career in museum and gallery education, establishing new services in three different museums before working at the Fitzwilliam Museum for many years. Sarah is the founder of Cambridge Art Tours, which runs tours and courses in and around East Anglia, as well as online. She is a Tour Director for an award winning travel company and has led tours to Italy, France, Germany, Belgium and America. Sarah became an Arts Society accredited lecturer in 2021 and, since then, has given lectures and run study days for Arts Societies throughout the UK, as well as in Germany, Holland and New Zealand.
Melopee by Frederic Bazille 1870
Public domain
All are welcome – free for members, £9 fee for visitors
Refreshments are available at the end of the lecture