Les lauriers roses

Painted in 1867 and now at the Cincinnati Art Museum, 'Les lauriers roses' (The Oleanders) depicts flowering oleander—a plant characteristic of the Mediterranean south—in an arrangement that allowed Bazille to test his handling of dense, delicate blossoms and dark, lance-shaped leaves. The oleander was a quintessentially southern plant for Bazille, firmly associated with the Languedoc landscape he grew up in, making this still life a gesture of regional identity as well as a technical exercise. The painting demonstrates his ability to move between large-scale figure compositions and intimate floral subjects with equal assurance.

The oleander's structure—clusters of small flowers on strong, dark-leaved branches—creates compositional rhythm through the interplay of pink and white blossoms against deep green foliage. Bazille's brushwork captures the textural contrast between the delicate petals and waxy leaves.