Frédéric Bazille was a friend of Alfred Bruyas and became an
important early member of the Impressionist movement in Paris,
where he was associated with August Renoir, Claude Monet and
Alfred Sisley among others. Bazille painted at least three
different views of Aigues-Mortes near Montpellier, experimenting
with different compositions and formats. While many of his early
works have been lost, this rare early landscape is marked by the
characteristics of the Provençal landscape tradition, including
the work of Paul Guigou. The scene stretches with clarity and
precision from a low point of view to great effect, the marshy
foreground opening up to the fortified port town. The painting
captures the glorious colours typical of the region and evokes
the sensation of the different surfaces by various techniques.
The painting also makes clear Bazille’s interest in using the
effects of light on surfaces as a means of defining mass and
form.