Berthe Morisot
Through my recent reading ‘Berthe Morisot“ (Dominique Bona, French author), I discovered 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.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.
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” …
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
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.”
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.
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.
