Finally.. ..I will have finished the paintings for my uncle. I have completely reworked them since my last letter [to his mother, 5 May 1865]; origin… - Frédéric Bazille

I have almost finished a large landscape [painting 'Landscape by the Lez River' - [around Montpellier].. ..I am completely alone on the country; my cousins and my brother are at the resort. My father and mother are living in town; this solitude pleases me enormously; it makes me work a lot and read a lot.

If I did not know how unhappy you [ Monet, his friend] are, I certainly would not take the trouble to respond to the letter that reached me this morning. You try to demonstrate to me that I don't keep my promises, but you have only succeeded in proving to me your ingratitude. As far as I know I had never had the air to give you charity. I know to the contrary, better than everyone, the value of the painting that I have purchased [Monet's painting 'Women in the garden' purchased by Bazille] and I very much regret not being wealthy enough to offer you better conditions. (WPJ 15)

The subject matter is unimportant, provided what I have done is interesting as a painting. I chose the modern era because it is the one I understand best; I find it more alive for people who are alive.