Berthe Morisot
I discovered Berthe Morisot, through my reading ‘Berthe Morisot“ (Dominique Bona, French author).
A woman whose life is as fascinating as her painting : she defought the conventions to live her life and art on her way, with an unfailing determination, at a time when women did not have careers outside of their home and marriage.
In addition, her art is fascinating. She is a key figure in the founding of Impressionism. She broke the rules of realism, in the way she painted
Certainly one of the three greatest female impressionist painters (with Marie Bracquemond and Mary Cassat). She was respected and admired by her counterparts and friends Monet, Manet, Pissaro, Renoir, Degas…
But unfortunately her work has been undervalued for too long… She was a women, and that might explain it all.
The Musée d’Orsay houses today one of the most important collections of Impressionist paintings in the world. My article about the Musée d’Orsay : Click here
Here is a list of some of the most famous impressionist painters :
Frédéric Bazille, Gustave Caillebotte, Mary Cassat, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, Pieerre Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Marie Bracquemond… Just to name a few.
Who is Berthe Morisot ?
‘I do not think any man would ever treat a woman as his equal, and it is all I ask because I know my worth.’ Berthe Morisot – 1890
(“Je ne crois pas qu’il y ait jamais eu un homme traitant une femme d’égale à égal, et c’est tout ce que j’aurais demandé. Car je sais que je les vaux.” Berthe Morisot, 1890)
Berthe Morisot is one of the major figure of the Impressionism. She was born in 1841. She died at age 54 in 1895.
She was a member of the Parisian avant-garde impressionist movement. Her friends were Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir, Fantin Latour, or Pissaro. She exhibited with them regularly.
She frequented French writers too : Stéphane Mallarmé, Zola, Baudelaire, Paul Valery…
Her work remained popular throughout her life. But her true value was never fully recognized by the public and the institutions. Her marriage license and her death certificat listed her as “without profession” …
‘I will achieve it only (being an artist) by perseverance, and by openly asserting my determination to emancipate myself.”
Berthe Morisot – 1871
(“Je n’obtiendrai (mon indépendance qu’à force de persévérance et en manifestant très ouvertement l’intention de m’émanciper)
As a woman and as a painter : she was one of the most influential female impressionist painters.
One of the rare woman to make the painting her profession at a time when women couldn’t expect to have careers outside of marriage. She defought social norms, always refused an academic art.
She was determined to be an artist as well as a wife and mother. She fought against the preconceptions of women’s roles at a time when women were not allowed to join the official art institutions.
Berthe Morisot and Edouard Manet
A Model subject and a muse for Manet (1832 – 1883) :
Berthe Morisot posed for Manet. Between 1868 and 1874, Edouard Manet painted her twelve times, more than any other woman. It’s Henri Fantin Latour who introduced her in 1868 to Edouard Manet. Berthe Morisot and Edouard Manet became close friends. He was a great admirer of her work and supported her although, and they both influenced each other art
The first time she posed for Manet was for “the Balcony”. But the most famous painting of Berthe Morisot by Edouard Manet is probably “Berthe Morisot with a bouquet of violets” where she is wearing a black dress.
Posing for Manet, was already an unconventional choice : Manet was a controversial artist for his paintings “Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe” (exhibited in the Salon in 1863) and “Olympia” (exhibited in 1865)
A contemporary wrote : “When [Manet] paints Victorine, he paints her as a beautiful object; when he paints Berthe, he paints her with love and tenderness.”
And “Le Repos”, could look like a declaration of love for his model. At least an emblematic portrait of Berthe Morisot by Manet
Though, through the letters she wrote, we know that she cared deeply for Manet, nobody really knows if they both were in love.
However, Manet was a married man when they met, and Edouard Manet was also known as having numerous affairs with many women outside of his marriage.
In 1874, at age 33, she married Manet’s younger brother Eugène who was also a painter. Her husband supported Berthe Morisot’ s carrier and provided her with social and financial stability. In 1878, they had a child, Julie.
A few more words about Berthe Morisot and some of her works
“Real painters understand with the brush”
Berthe Morisot
Born in 1841 in a wealthy bourgeois family in Bourges (center of France). She had 2 older sisters Yves (although Yves is a French male first name) and Edma, and also a younger brother, Tiburce. Her family moved to Paris in 1852. She lived in Paris for the rest of her life.
Berthe and her sisters received an artistic education (music and painting lessons) and were supported by their family. Both Berthe and her sister Edma were talented artists. Edma gave up after getting married and Berthe continued working as a painter.
She started as a copyist at Le Louvre and studied painting extensively during this period. She soon refused the academic training she was receiving. Her work was first exhibited in 1864 at the Salon de Paris, a prestigious art show. She was then 23.
In 1872, she sold 22 paintings to a private dealer. It was the start of the career as an established artist.
She was renowned for her creativity, and her experiments with the concept of finished an unfinished in her paintings, her way to interpret traditional subjects in a modern way, her capacity to reveal with delicacy the complexity of life and human beings, and her ability to capture the movement, the light, the feelings.
She painted outdoor scenes, still-life scenes, everyday life activities and portraits. Mostly in Paris and around, but occasionaly in England and Italy too. Always with a unconventional approach to her art, with delicacy
Her paintings are spread in numerous museums and private collections all over the world. In Paris, mainly at the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée Marmottan Monet
‘Berthe Morisot’s uniqueness was to “live” her painting, and to paint her life’ – Paul Valery (French writer and one of her friends)
Among her most famous works : the Cradle (1872) where she shows her sister Edma contemplating her sleeping daughter and “Interior” (1872)
Where to see Berthe Morisot's paintings ?
The numerous Berthe Morisot’s paintings are spread all over the world in private collections and museums.
In Paris, They are mainly at Orsay museum and the Marmottan Monet Museum
- at the Musée d’Orsay : In the permanent collection
- Portrait de Madame Pontillon, 1871,
- Le Berceau (The Cradle) , 1872,
- Jeune femme au bal encore intitulé Jeune femme en toilette de bal, 1876,
- Jeune femme en toilette de bal (Young Woman in Evening Dress), 1879
- at the Musée Marmottan-Monet, – 2, rue Louis-Boilly, Paris 16 –Metro stop : La Muette or Ranelagh (line 9)
- “Au bal” ou Jeune fille au bal, 1875,
- Eugène Manet on the Isle of Wight 1875,
- at the National museum of Stockolm
- Dans le jardin (Dames cueillant des fleurs), 1879
- at the National Gallery of London
- Le Lac du Bois de Boulogne (Jour d’été), 1879,
- at the Art Institute of Chicago :
- Femme et enfant au balcon, 1871–72,
- Femme à sa toilette , 1875–1880
- Jeune fille de dos à sa toilette, encore intitulé Femme à sa toilette 1879, oil on canvas, 6
- Autoportrait, 1885, pastel on paper, 47.5 × 37.5 cm,
- La Forêt de Compiègne, 1885, oil on canvas,
- Le Bain (Jeune file se coiffant), 1885–1886,
My thoughts and recommendations
- Book you ticket in advance : Though you won’t be able to avoid waiting in line (because of the safety check), booking in advance is highly recommended .
- Best days and times for your visit :
- Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at the opening time (9.30am. Best being there around 9/9.15am)
- Thursday at the opening night. I suggest that you’d be there around 7pm or later. (Last access to the museum at 9pm. Closing time at 9.45pm)
- More recommendations for a visit to Orsay in my article about “Orsay”
Practical details
- Address : Musée d’Orsay , 1 rue de la Légion d’Honneur – Paris 7 . Metro and RER : Solferino metro stop or RER C Musée d’Orsay metro stop –
- Opening time
- Tuesday to Sunday 9:30am – 6pm. Last access to the museum at 5pm, last access to the exhibitions at 5:15pm, closing of the rooms from 5:30pm
- Late opening on Thursday until 9:45pm. Last access to the museum and exhibitions at 9pm, closing of the rooms from 9:15pm
- Closed every Monday, May 1 and December 25
- Taking photos in the museum is allowed
