Berthe Morisot
Berthe Morisot was a pioneering French painter and a central figure in the Impressionist movement, known for her unique perspective as a woman artist in 19th-century France. Born into a wealthy middle-class family, she had access to art education, which was uncommon for women of her time. Despite societal expectations that limited women's artistic careers to hobbyist pursuits, Morisot was encouraged by her family to develop her talent. She debuted at the Salon de Paris in 1864 and subsequently participated in every Impressionist exhibition except one.
Morisot's work often focused on domestic themes, particularly depicting women and children in gardens and parks, in contrast to her male contemporaries, who explored more provocative subjects. Among her best-known works is "The Cradle," which captures the complexities of motherhood. Throughout her career, she maintained close relationships with prominent artists like Édouard Manet, who supported her artistic endeavors. Morisot married Eugène Manet in 1874 and had a daughter, Julie, who later became her muse. Despite her contributions to art, Morisot's work was not fully recognized during her lifetime, and she died at the age of fifty-four, leaving a lasting legacy as a trailblazer for female artists.
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Subject Terms
Berthe Morisot
Impressionist painter
- Born: January 14, 1841
- Place of Birth: Place of birth: Bourges, France
- Died: March 2, 1895
- Place of Death: Place of death: Paris, France
Significance: Berthe Morisot was born to a wealthy middle-class family. Despite social conventions that should have prevented her from being an artist, she was respected by both the elite and other artists. She was among the first impressionist painters.
Background
Berthe Morisot was one of three girls and a boy born into a respectable French family. The sisters all took drawing lessons, which was a common aspect of the education of wealthy middle-class daughters. Both Morisot and her sister Edma took painting lessons. Their teacher recognized their talent and alerted their mother to their potential as artists. Despite social conventions that decreed respectable women could pursue art merely as a hobby, their mother encouraged both girls. Morisot and her sister studied in Paris with several respected and influential teachers. They copied the classics and painted landscapes. Edma gave up painting when she married a naval officer in 1864.
Because her family was financially secure, Morisot was able to choose her subjects and follow her passions. Morisot generally painted what she wished and sold very few paintings during her lifetime.
When she was twenty-three, her work was accepted and shown at the Salon de Paris. This exhibition by the establishment marked her 1864 debut as an artist. Critics generally approved of her works, which in her first exhibition consisted of two landscapes. Her paintings were accepted in the Salon de Paris every year for the next decade.
Morisot met Édouard Manet in 1868. Their lifelong friendship was both a personal and professional relationship. Their families became close, and Manet painted his friend many times. Morisot soon forged a new artistic direction as she developed a fresh, modern style.
Life’s Work
Although she was able to interact with her contemporaries, as a woman Morisot remained at a distinct disadvantage. Manet, Edgar Degas, and Frédéric Bazille, among other artists, were developing an unconventional painting style, which critics dismissed with the disparaging term impressionism. Traditionally, artists clearly depicted a scene and the figures within it. The impressionists used more free-flowing styles—dabs of paint and swipes of color—to infuse a scene with feeling and authenticity. The male artists of the day chose to focus on realism rather than posed studio scenes. The men painted street scenes, nudes, and dancers. They visited brothels and cafés in search of models or scenes. These subjects and places were off-limits for respectable young women. Instead, Morisot focused on gardens, parks, and domestic scenes, especially women and children.
Although her subject matter is different from those of other impressionist artists, she used the same techniques. She had gained an appreciation for the qualities of light when painting landscapes, and she skillfully provided texture and depth to even a plain white dress with subtle variations of shade and color.
When the impressionists were refused by the Salon de Paris, and the art establishment in general, they organized their own exhibition. The first exhibition by the independents, as they were known, was held in 1874. They respected Morisot as an artist, and Degas invited her to participate. She submitted nine canvases, including The Cradle, The Harbour at Cherbourg, Hide and Seek, and Reading. She did not show her work again at the Salon de Paris. She contributed to every impressionist exhibition except one.
The Harbour at Lorient is regarded as an early masterpiece. Manet admired it greatly, and Morisot gave it to her friend as a gift. The Cradle is her best-known work. It depicts Edma gazing at her infant daughter. In many letters to her sister, Edma expressed sadness at having to devote herself to domestic life. Morisot confided that she envied her sister but also felt deep sadness at what her elder sister had given up for marriage and motherhood.
By age thirty, Morisot believed her chances of marriage and children were over. Although women’s rights groups were campaigning for suffrage in many countries, and Morisot herself had a great deal of freedom to pursue her interests, by and large eighteenth-century women were expected to wed early and devote themselves to domestic life. Her friend Manet encouraged a relationship between Morisot and his younger brother, Eugène. The couple married in 1874, when Morisot was thirty-three. She missed one impressionist exhibition, in 1877, when she was expecting their child. Their daughter, Julie, was born in 1878.
Julie was the subject of many of Morisot’s later paintings. She painted Eugene Manet and His Daughter in the Garden in 1883 and Portrait of Berthe Morisot and Her Daughter in 1885. Where earlier paintings vibrated with light and color, the latter work is stark.
Julie Manet came down with pneumonia in 1894. Morisot, by then a widow, devotedly nursed her sixteen-year-old daughter back to health. Morisot became ill herself and died in 1895.
Impact
Morisot was one of the first impressionist painters. She painted her best-known work, The Cradle, in 1872. The work seemingly depicts maternal love for an infant, but on closer examination, it seems to hint at resignation and regret for what the mother has given up for motherhood. Morisot died young, at age fifty-four, and never attained the esteem many of her colleagues gained in their lifetimes.
Personal Life
Morisot married Eugène Manet, the younger brother of her friend, Édouard, in 1874, when she was thirty-three. Eugène Manet gave up his painting career to manage his wife’s career. They had a daughter, Julie, in 1878.
Bibliography
"Berthe Morisot." Art History Archive. Art History Archive, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016.
"Berthe Morisot." National Museum of Women in the Arts. National Museum of Women in the Arts, n.d. Web. 10 May 2016
"Berthe Morisot The Cradle." Musée d’Orsay. Musée d’Orsay, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016.
Blin, Sylvie. "Berthe Morisot." Art Tribune. Tribune de l’Art, 25 May 2012. Web. 9 May 2016.
Clement, Russell T., Annick Houzé, and Christiane Erbolato-Ramsey. The Women Impressionists: A Sourcebook. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2000. Print.
Hughes, Kathryn. "Berthe Morisot: The Forgotten Impressionist." Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 13 Dec. 2010. Web. 9 May 2016.
Solomon, Tessa. "Berthe Morisot, Impressionism's Most Relentless Innovator, Is Finally Receiving Her Due." ARTNews, 13 Jan. 2021, www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/berthe-morisot-who-is-she-why-is-she-important-1234581283/. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.
"Women Impressionists: Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalès, Marie Bracquemond." De Young/Legion of Honor. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, n.d. Web. 10 May 2016.