1870
Huile sur bois
20 x 32,5 cm - 7 1/4 x 12 3/4 in.
Collection particulière
Dernière mise à jour : 2022-04-03 06:23:42
Référence : MSb-65
Famille de l'artiste, Montpellier - Frédéric Bazille, neveu de l’artiste - Collection particulière.
Paris, galerie Wildenstein,1950, n° 59 - Montpellier, New York, 1992-1993, n° 32, repr. p. 126 - Montpellier, Paris, Washington, 2016-2017, cat. 66, repr. p. 256 et p. 183 [Les références sont du catalogue en français].
Sarraute, Catalogue de l'œuvre de Frédéric Bazille, 1948, appendice n° 16 - Sarrraute, Catalogue exp. galerie Wildenstein, 1950, n° 59 - Vuatone, Cat. exp. Montpellier, New York, 1992-1993, n° 32, p. 126 - Schulman, Fréderic Baziile : Catalogue raisonné, 1995, n° 65, repr. p. 220 - Hilaire, Jones, Perrin, Cat. exp. Montpellier, Paris, Washington, 2016-2017, cat. 66, repr. p. 256 et p. 183 [Les références sont du catalogue en français] - Schulman, Frédéric Bazille : Catalogue raisonné numérique, 2022, n° 65.
This small painting is the only preparatory oil sketch for Ruth and Booz that we know of.
Several elements in it differ from the final painting: the tripod on the right, the mountains on the horizon that are taller and more eventful, and the millstones that are closer and do not extend beyond the horizon line.
This painting is obviously a sketch, the brushwork is broader than in the painting, the characters have less defined outlines. The colors are generally of a grayer blue and Booz's dress is whiter and brighter. In the sky the stars appear more clearly and the moon forms a sharper, circumscribed halo.
This sketch, so broadly brushed that one can sometimes distinguish the wood of the panel, is not lacking in charm and has undeniable pictorial qualities. In its technique, more than the painting itself, it is in keeping with what we are accustomed to seeing in Bazille. It is close in any case to several preparatory drawings for Ruth and Booz: Chest of Ruth, Head, Arm and Bust of Ruth, Study for Ruth, Ruth Lying down, Study for Booz Asleep, Booz Asleep, Study for Booz Asleep.
