Berthe Morisot

Manet, Mme. Eugene

French, 1841 - 1895

Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot was a French painter and prominent member of the impressionist group. She is known for her luminous, elegant landscapes and sensitive paintings of women and children.

Morisot was born in 1841 to an upper-class family. She began drawing and painting at a young age and achieved considerable success. Her work was featured in several of the annual Salon exhibitions sponsored by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1874, Morisot also participated in the first impressionist exhibition alongside peers such as Paul Cezanne and Claude Monet.

Morisot paid keen attention to the women she painted. In portraits such as The Sisters (1869), the artist uses loose, expressive brushwork to capture her subjects’ psychological depth and personalities. Morisot died in 1895, having established a reputation as one of the great painters of her time.

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An older woman wearing a long black dress sits reading a book in front of a younger woman wearing cream white, who sits on a couch just beyond, in this vertical portrait painting. The scene is loosely painted with some visible brushstrokes, especially in the furniture, clothing, and room. Both women have pale skin and wear dresses with long sleeves and skirts. To our right, the older woman sits in a chair with a curved back, which runs parallel to the right edge of the canvas. The full skirt of her black dress angles down across the picture, almost spanning the bottom edge of the composition. Her gray hair is pulled back and covered by a black cloth or veil, which falls to her shoulder and blends with her dress. The collar is lined with a white ruffle, and white lace cuffs encircle her wrists. Her face is painted with rosy tones. She looks down at her book with dark eyes, and her rose-pink lips are closed. She wears a gold ring with a light stone on her left ring finger, and the book she holds has a moss-green cover. Her skirt overlaps the younger woman sitting nearby on the couch, which runs along the back wall of the room. The young woman’s knees are angled to our left but she looks slightly back to our right, to gaze down and into the distance with brown eyes. Her skin is paler, but she has lightly flushed cheeks and her petal-pink lips are also closed. An azure-blue bow is tied in her chestnut-brown hair. A few tendrils fall down her back and over one shoulder. Her dress falls loosely over her torso and legs. She wears a gold ring on her left hand and a gold bracelet on that wrist. She fingers a piece of lapis-blue fabric in one hand. The couch behind her has a pattern with stylized flowers or leaves floating within rose-pink ribbons that hang in swags, against a white background. Pillows patterned with ruby red, sky blue, and fawn brown peek out from behind the young woman. A round or oval wooden table with curving legs to our left holds a glass vase with a violet-purple flower, perhaps a hydrangea. A slip of paper or envelope sits on the table next to the vase. The wall behind the couch is fog gray, and the bottom edge of a gold frame hangs behind the young woman.
Berthe Morisot, The Mother and Sister of the Artist, 1869/1870, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.186

The Mother and Sister of the Artist

Berthe Morisot · 1869/1870 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.186

Shown from the lap up, two women with pale skin and dark hair pulled up and back, wearing white dresses with baby-blue polka dots, sit on a couch in this horizontal portrait painting. Both women have straight, dark brows, delicate noses, smooth skin, and their small, rose-pink mouths are closed. Wispy bangs brush their foreheads, and their hair is piled high with long ringlets falling down their backs. Both wear black ribbons like chokers around their necks. Their dresses have high necks with ruffles along the necklines, ruffles at the wrists, and are gathered under the bust. They sit angled in toward each other. The woman on our left has black hair, and she looks down and to our right with dark eyes. She wears a gold ring with a dark, oval stone on one hand resting in her lap. The other woman has chestnut-brown hair and looks down and off to our left with ice-blue eyes. She holds an open fan in her hands in her lap. The fabric on the couch has vertical white and lilac-purple stripes, and is overlaid with a pattern of pink flowers and green leaves. A framed picture hanging on the bone-white wall behind the women shows an arched painting against a sky-blue background. A few spiky leaves from a houseplant are cut off by the left edge of the painting. The portrait is loosely painted throughout, especially in the couch and background. The artist signed the painting in the upper right corner, “Berthe Morisot.”
Berthe Morisot, The Sisters, 1869, oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. Charles S. Carstairs, 1952.9.2

The Sisters

Berthe Morisot · 1869 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1952.9.2

The image depicts an artistic rendering of a person, capturing their upper half. The person is seated in a chair, facing forward in a relaxed posture. Their facial features are softly defined with subtle highlights, and their hair is short and dark, styled closely to the head. The attire is a delicate garment with ruffled detailing around the neckline, depicted in soft pink shades. The arms of the chair and surrounding space are suggested with gentle brushstrokes in muted tones. The background is an indistinct, light wash of beige that complements the soft pastel tones of the person's clothing.
Berthe Morisot, Girl Seated, 1894, watercolor over traces of graphite on Japanese paper, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.161

Girl Seated

Berthe Morisot · 1894 · watercolor over traces of graphite on Japanese paper ·  Accession ID  1970.17.161

This painting displays a young girl sitting, her head and body slightly turned to the left. She has fair skin and light reddish-brown hair tied back with a blue ribbon, a few curls framing her face. She has a pointed chin, pale eyebrows, and small red lips in a neutral expression. She wears a dark blue dress with a white apron, and her hands are on her lap, inside pockets on the front of the apron. In the background, there is a room with a small brown table holding a vase of pink and white flowers. The wall is a light pink and cream color, and the floor is blue green. There is a darker section in the upper right that suggests a door or hallway. The brushstrokes in the painting are thick and visible, giving the background a blurred appearance.
Berthe Morisot, Young Girl with an Apron, 1891, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 2004.110.5

Young Girl with an Apron

Berthe Morisot · 1891 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2004.110.5

The image shows a drawing of a woman's upper body reaching upwards to grasp a branch with leaves. She is leaning forward with her body turned to the side. Her facial features are softly outlined and her hair is styled in a bun. She is wearing a blouse with mid-length sleeves and a sash or belt at her waist. The background is plain with only the branch visible. The drawing is rendered in a single color on a plain background.
Berthe Morisot, Girl Picking Cherries, 1891, red chalk with stumping on light brown paper, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1995.47.62

Girl Picking Cherries

Berthe Morisot · 1891 · red chalk with stumping on light brown paper ·  Accession ID  1995.47.62

The image shows a drawing of a person's upper body, from the shoulders up to a little below the waist. The person is seated, slightly turned toward the right. The drawing features facial details such as almond-shaped eyes, a small nose, and full lips. The hair is styled casually, falling around the face and reaching ear length. The person is wearing a simple top or dress with long sleeves, no distinct patterns or embellishments visible. There is no jewelry or accessories present. The background is plain with a light brown color, providing no additional context.
Berthe Morisot, Peasant Girl, 1890, red chalk with stumping on light brown paper; laid down, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1995.47.61

Peasant Girl

Berthe Morisot · 1890 · red chalk with stumping on light brown paper; laid down ·  Accession ID  1995.47.61

The image depicts a landscape with trees viewed from an elevated perspective. The horizon line is high, with tall trees stretching across. The brushstrokes are sketch-like, creating movement and texture. The color palette is soft with earthy tones of pale orange, yellow, green, and blue. The trees in the foreground are faintly outlined, leading the eye towards the mid-region with scattered trees and a blurred background.
Berthe Morisot, Spring Landscape, c. 1890/1891, colored pencils and graphite on wove paper, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.163

Spring Landscape

Berthe Morisot · c. 1890/1891 · colored pencils and graphite on wove paper ·  Accession ID  1970.17.163

Shown from the knees up, a young girl with pale skin, wearing a coral-peach dress, sits facing and looking at us in this loosely painted, vertical portrait. Her knees are angled slightly to our left, and her hands rest in her lap. She has a round face and smooth, lightly flushed cheeks. She has brown eyes under arched brows, a delicate, snub nose, and her rose-pink lips are closed. Her hair, which is painted with broad strokes of caramel brown and moss green, is parted on one side and pulled smoothly back, presumably tied behind her head. Tendrils fall over her shoulders. Her dress is gathered around her neck and tied with a bow at the back. The loose sleeves fall to just below her elbows, and the dress is belted around the waist. A curving swipe of canary-yellow paint could be a buckle at the front. The fabric of the dress is painted with long, visible strokes of shell and rose pink, butter yellow, and ivory white, and a few touches of sage green and periwinkle blue for shadows. She wears a ring on the middle finger of her right hand. The space around her is loosely painted with strokes of electric and cobalt blue, with unpainted canvas visible at some of the edges. To our left, over the girl's shoulder, a wooden bird cage holds an emerald-green parakeet. The bird is streaked with royal blue along its back, and the area around its hooked beak is apple red. The cage has a mint-green bow and ribbon along the top. The artist signed the painting in green on the lower right corner: “Berthe Morisot.”
Berthe Morisot, The Artist's Daughter with a Parakeet, 1890, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.50

The Artist's Daughter with a Parakeet

Berthe Morisot · 1890 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.50

This is a drawing of a swan and a duck floating on water. The drawing is rendered in a delicate and minimalistic style, with fine lines creating the outlines of a swan and a duck. The swan is the dominant figure, with its elegant, curved neck being a focal point. The duck is positioned slightly behind or above the swan. The surrounding water is suggested with subtle, sketchy lines. The drawing captures a serene and peaceful moment in nature.
Berthe Morisot, Swans at Stagnant Water, 1889, printed 1921, drypoint on laid paper, Rosenwald Collection, 1953.6.101

Swans at Stagnant Water

Berthe Morisot · 1889, printed 1921 · drypoint on laid paper ·  Accession ID  1953.6.101

At least one rowboat occupied by two people floats on a lake, which is surrounded by lush green vegetation in this vertical landscape painting. The scene is loosely painted with short and long parallel brushstrokes, so some details are difficult to make out. The white of the four geese lining the bank near us break up a color palette almost entirely dominated by spring, mint, and sage green and royal and baby blue. Three of the geese stand in a line and the fourth bends down to peck at the grass. A bed of deep pink flowers is indicated with touches of vibrant color to our right of the geese. One person wearing a golden yellow garment and a butter-yellow hat rows the boat near the center of the lake. A smudge of cobalt blue could be another person in that boat. Other curved lines in the water could be additional boats or may be reflections in the lake’s surface. Barely discernable, a person, possibly holding a stick, stands among the tall trees lining the opposite bank. The horizon line comes about three-quarters of the way up the composition, and the sky above is painted with watery blue, pale yellow, and ivory-white brushstrokes. The artist signed the work with dark letters near the lower left corner: “B. Morisot.”
Berthe Morisot, Girl in a Boat with Geese, c. 1889, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.50

Girl in a Boat with Geese

Berthe Morisot · c. 1889 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.17.50