Portrait of an Unknown Sitter as a Troubadour

This portrait of an unknown sitter costumed as a troubadour bears a date of 1875 in some records—five years after Bazille's death in 1870—making it anomalous in his catalogue and suggesting the date may be uncertain or the attribution remains a matter of scholarly discussion. The troubadour subject was a popular Romantic-era theme in French painting, celebrating the medieval lyric poets of Occitan culture (the same southern French region Bazille came from). If genuinely by Bazille, the costume portrait adds an unusual dimension to his work. Now at the Dallas Museum of Art.

The costume portrait employs a dark, atmospheric background against which the troubadour's colourful medieval-style clothing stands out. The handling of fabric and costume detail follows the conventions of the genre portrait, with particular attention to the textures of the sitter's dress and accessories.