Berthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot was one of the founders of Impressionism – and painted the lives of women and children at home and in the garden with the lightest of touches.

Life

Born in Bourges in 1841, she took painting lessons with her sister Edma, among others from Camille Corot. From 1864 she exhibited at the Paris Salon. She was a close friend of Édouard Manet and in 1874 married his brother Eugène. That same year she showed work at the first Impressionist exhibition and took part in nearly all the later ones. She painted until her death in 1895, often her daughter Julie.

Style & technique

Morisot’s brushstrokes are quick, loose and almost sketch-like; bright whites and delicate colours make rooms and gardens shimmer with light. She painted what was accessible to her as a middle-class woman – drawing rooms, balconies, gardens, mothers, children – and turned it into modern, free painting.

Look closely

  • The white: dresses, curtains, light – how many whites can you find?
  • The strokes: zigzags and sweeps, as if dashed off with a light hand.
  • Windows and balconies: thresholds between inside and outside.

Timeline

  • 1841: Born in Bourges.
  • 1864: First shows at the Paris Salon.
  • 1874: First Impressionist exhibition; marries Eugène Manet.
  • 1878: Birth of her daughter Julie.
  • 1895: Dies in Paris.

Works in the museum