Berthe Morisot (1841–1895) was one of the few female artists who was centrally involved in the founding of the Impressionist movement. She exhibited in seven of the eight original Impressionist exhibition, more than many of her male peers and played a major role in defining the movement’s subject matter.
Morisot came from a wealthy, cultured family and received a high-quality artistic education. In 1868, she met Édouard Manet, who became her close friend and mentor (and whose brother, Eugène, she would later marry). Manet was deeply influenced by her use of color and light, and she was equally influenced by his modern approach to composition.
The Female Subject
Because social conventions limited her access to the public spaces painted by male Impressionists (like cafés, bars, or racetracks), Morisot specialized in subjects drawn from her own life: domestic scenes, intimate portraits, and scenes of women and children in gardens or interiors. This restriction ultimately gave her work a unique and powerful focus, capturing the private world of 19th-century bourgeois women with unmatched sensitivity and insight.
Artistic Style
Morisot's artistic style is known for its delicacy, spontaneity, and fluid brushwork.
Feathery Touch: Her technique is characterized by a distinctive "feathery" or hazy application of paint, using loose, open brushstrokes that often allow the canvas ground to show through. This technique creates a sense of lightness and fleeting movement.
Master of White: She was a true master of color, particularly the use of white. She used numerous shades of white (pure white, creamy white, pinkish white, bluish white) to capture the complex reflections and variations of light on clothing, curtains, and skin.
Open Composition: Like her peers, she embraced the use of light and color to capture momentary impressions. Her compositions often feel spontaneous, like a quick snapshot, lending her figures a sense of life and immediacy.
Berthe Morisot’s dedication and talent cemented her status as one of the most important and influential figures of Impressionism, whose work is now highly celebrated for its beauty and its historical perspective.
