La Toilette

Nobody knows how art history would develop if Frédéric Bazille had not died so young. He was only 28 years old when he was killed in 1870 as a soldier in French-Prussian war. Bazille was an important pioneer in the development of Impressionism, who along with his friends Monet, Renoir, and Sisley, were on the path to discover this new way of depicting reality. He left only 65 paintings, which include landscape paintings, still lifes, and portraits; among them is this one, painted a couple of months before his death.

The Toilette was aimed for the Salon of 1870. It presents the model Lise Tréhot in the interior of a harem. Orientalism wasn't very much in fashion among the Impressionists-to-be (with the exception of Renoir), but it is clear how Bazille was willing to adapt his work to the preferences of the Salon Jury. When we look at it we see some echoes of the works of Delacroix and Jean-Léon Gérôme, who was the jury president at the time. It was an excellent strategy because Bazille could paint everything that the Academy loved: nudes, decors, and richness, so he could demonstrate his ability to render flesh, fur, silk, and satin.  The painting, however, wasn't accepted by the Salon.

P.S. Here is everything you should know about Orientalism and here you can see how Delacroix mastered it!