Who Is Berthe Morisot?

Berthe Morisot
“Real painters understand with a brush in their hand”, is said by Berthe Morisot (Brainy Quote). Berthe Morisot was an impressionist and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the impressionists. Berthe Morisot was born on January 14, 1841 in Bourges, France. Berthe Morisot's father was a high-ranking government official and her grandfather was the influential Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. She and her sister Edma began painting as young girls. Despite the fact that as women they were not allowed to join official arts institutions, the sisters earned respect in art circles for their talent. Berthe and Edma went to Paris to study under experienced painters such as Joseph Guichard and also studied

with landscape painter Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot to learn how to paint outdoor scenes. Berthe Morisot was able to work with Corot several years and later was able to exhibit her first work in the prestigious state-run art show, the Salon, in 1864. She would earn a regular spot at show for the next decade.
In 1868, fellow artist Henri Fantin-Latour introduced Berthe Morisot to Edouard Manet. The two formed a lasting friendship and greatly influenced one another's work. Berthe soon eschewed the paintings of her past with Corot, migrating instead toward Manet's more unconventional and modern approach. She also befriended the Impressionists Edgar Degas and Frédéric Bazille and in 1874, refused to show her work at the Salon. She instead agreed to be in the first independent show of Impressionist paintings, which included works by Degas, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, and Alfred Sisley (Editors). In 1874, Berthe Morisot married Manet's younger brother, Eugene, also a painter. The marriage provided her with social and financial stability while she continued to pursue her painting career. Able to dedicate herself wholly to her craft, Morisot participated in the Impressionist exhibitions every year except 1877, when she was pregnant with her daughter.
Morisot's first appearance in the Salon de Paris came at the age of twenty-three in 1864, with the acceptance of two landscape paintings.

She continued to show regularly in the Salon until 1874, the year of the first impressionist exhibition. Meanwhile, in 1868 Morisot became acquainted with Édouard Manet. He took a special interest in Morisot, as is evident from his warm portrayal of her in several paintings. One includes a striking portrait study of Morisot in a black veil, while in mourning for her father's death. It is displayed at the top of the article. Correspondence between them bespeaks affection (Berthe Morisot). He once gave her an easel as a Christmas present. He also interfered in one of her Salon submissions when he was engaged to transport it. Manet mistook one of Morisot's simple self-criticisms, as an invitation to add his corrections, which he did, much to Morisot's dismay. Although traditionally Manet has been related as the master and Morisot as the follower, there is evidence that their relationship was a reciprocating one. Morisot had developed her own distinctive artistic style. Records of paintings show Manet's approval and appreciation of certain stylistic and compositional decisions that Morisot originated. He incorporated some of these characteristics into his own work. It was Morisot who convinced Manet to attempt plein air painting, which she had been practicing since having been introduced to it by Corot (Berthe

Morisot).
Morisot’s works are almost always small in scale. She worked in oil paint, watercolors, or pastel, and sketched using various drawing media. Around 1880 she began painting on unprimed canvases, a technique Manet and Eva Gonzales also experimented with at the time and her brushwork became looser. In 1888–89, her brushstrokes transitioned from short, rapid strokes to long, sinuous ones that define form. The outer edges of her paintings were often left unfinished, allowing the canvas to show through and increasing the sense of spontaneity. Wikipedia). After 1885, she worked mostly from preliminary drawings before beginning her oil paintings. Among her contemporary art critics such as Gustave Geoffrey in 1881, Morisot was hailed as "no one represents Impressionism with more refined talent or more authority than Morisot" Morisot creates a sense of space and depth through the use of color. Although her color palette was somewhat limited, her fellow impressionists regarded her as a "virtuoso colorist". She typically made expansive use of white, whether used as a pure white or mixed with other colors. In her large painting, The Cherry Tree, colors are more vivid but are still used to emphasize form. (Wikipedia)
Morisot’s subjects for painting were always based on her daily life experience. Her paintings reflect the 19th-century cultural restrictions of her class and gender. She avoided urban and street scenes and seldom painted the nude figure. Like her fellow Impressionist Mary Cassatt, she focused on domestic life and portraits in which she could use family and personal friends as models, including her daughter Julie and sister Edma. Prior to the 1860s, Morisot painted subjects in line with the Barbizon school before turning to scenes of contemporary femininity. Paintings like The Cradle (1872), in which she depicted current trends for nursery furniture, reflect her sensitivity to fashion and advertising, both of which would have been apparent to her female audience (Wikipedia). Her works also include landscapes, portraits, garden settings and boating scenes. Later in her career Morisot worked with more ambitious themes, such as nudes. Corresponding with Morisot's interest in nude subjects, Morisot also began to focus more on preliminary drawings, completing many dry points, charcoal, and color pencil drawings (Wikipedia).
Morisot died on 2 March 1895, in Paris, of pneumonia contracted while attending to her daughter Julie's similar illness, and thus orphaning her at the age of 16. She was interred in the Cimetière de Passy. I think this paper helped me to learn more about her as an artist and has also prepared me well for this game. I can almost feel what she went through in her life for what she loves the most, art. Her passion for art and her love for family were clearly depicted through her life.