Ruth and Boaz

Ruth and Boaz is an oil on canvas by Frédéric Bazille, dated 1870, now held by the Musée Fabre in Montpellier. It depicts a night scene from the Book of Ruth: Boaz sleeps beneath a sky with a crescent moon, while Ruth lies at some distance, propped on one elbow and gazing at the moon rather than at the sleeping old man. Her sleeveless tunic leaves her breast exposed, giving the figure a provocative air that contrasts with the stillness of the scene. Biblical subjects were unusual for Bazille, who was known mainly for landscapes and portraits, and his choice seems linked to the popularity of this theme in official Salon painting and to Victor Hugo's poem Booz asleep. The picture was left unfinished: Bazille enlisted shortly afterwards and was killed in combat in November 1870. An X-ray taken in 2017 revealed that the canvas covers an earlier work, Young Woman at the Piano, rejected by the Paris Salon, a reuse that fits his habit of recycling rejected compositions.

Painter

Frédéric Bazille

Date

1870

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

138 × 203 cm

Museum

Musée Fabre, Montpellier

Genre

religious art

Depicts

Ruth, Boaz

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