Landscape of Aigues-Mortes by Frédéric Bazille

Frédéric Bazille was born in Montpellier in 1841 to a wealthy wine merchant familiy. He had become impressed by the paintings of Eugène Delacroix, and soon developed an interest in painting. His parents agreed to let him study painting, as long as he also studied medicine at the same time. He moved to Paris in 1859, where he became friends with Alfred Sisley and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and was introduced to impressionist painting. In 1864 he failed his exam in medicine, and became a full-time painter.