Died young

Richard Parkes Bonington

Richard Parkes Bonington, Self Portrait, Private Collection

died of tuberculosis in 1828, at the age of 25

Bonington was born in England, and moved to France when he was fourteen. When the family moved from Calais, where his father was in the lace trade, to Paris, he became friends with Delacroix, who was a great admirer of his work. He, along with Constable achieved great success at the Salon of 1824, and his work, especially in the field of watercolour, introduced the English style to France.

Richard Parkes Bonington, A Scene on the French Coast, c1825, watercolour, 21 x 34 cm, Tate Britain, London, UK

Richard Parkes Bonington, The Pont des Arts, Paris, c1826, oil on board, 36 x 45 cm, Tate Britain, London, UK

Richard Parkes Bonington, Venice: Ducal Palace with a Religious Procession, exhibited 1828, oil on canvas, 114 x 163 cm, Tate Britain, London, UK

Marie Bashkirtseff

Marie Bashkirtseff, Self Portrait, 1880, oil on canvas, 114 x 95 cm, Musée des Beaux-Arts Jules Chéret Nice, France

died of tuberculosis in 1884, at the age of 25

She was born in what is now Ukraine, to a wealthy family. After her parents’ separation, she travelled with her mother in much of Europe before settling in Paris. She became friends with the painter Jules Bastien-Lepage, who also died young, at the age of 36, shortly before Marie. She exhibited at the Salon in 1880 when she was 21.

Marie Bashkirtseff, A Meeting, 1884, oil on canvas, 193 x 177 cm, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France

Marie Bashkirtseff, Autumn, 1883, oil on canvas, State Russian Museum, St Petersburg, Russia

Here, she shows herself as the seated figure in blue, while painting in the Académie Julian in Paris.

Marie Bashkirtseff, In the Studio, 1881, oil on canvas, 188 x 154 cm, kiev, Ukraine

As an aside, Jules Bastien-Lepage fought in the Franco-Prussian War and was wounded.

Fredéric Bazille

Frédéric Bazille, Self Portrait, 1866, oil on canvas, 109 x 71 cm, Art Institute, Chicago, IL, USA

died in battle in 1870, at the age of 28

He was born in Montpellier, into a wealthy family, and studied medicine as well as painting. He was generous to his group of friends who later became the Impressionists, and gave them money and equipment and space in his own studio.

After the outbreak of war, Frédéric Bazille joined a Zouave regiment, and was with his unit at the Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande when, his officer having been injured, he took command and led an assault on the German position. He was hit twice in the failed attack and died on the battlefield. His father travelled to the site a few days later to take his body back for burial at Montpellier.

Frédéric Bazille, La robe rose, 1864, oil on canvas, 147 x 110 cm, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France

Frédéric Bazille, Chailly, 1865, oil on canvas, 33 x 25 cm, Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France

Frédéric Bazille, Portrait de Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1867, oil on canvas, 62 x 51 cm, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France

The unanswerable question has to be asked: “What might they have done…?”