Interpretive Resource

Berthe Morisot
French, 1841-1895
Berthe Morisot most often depicted her immediate surroundings, especially women and children at home or outdoors; her own family was a favorite subject. "The special characteristic of Berthe Morisot," wrote poet Paul Valéry, "was the way she lived her painting and painted her life, as if a continual exchange between observation and action, creative energy and light were a necessary natural function simply depending on her ordinary way of living."

A member of an upper middle-class family, Morisot and her two sisters studied with several professional painters, including Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Through her close friend and mentor Edouard Manet she met other avant-garde artists and eventually joined the impressionist group. In 1874 Morisot participated in the first impressionist exhibition. Besides showing regularly with the impressionists, Berthe, with her husband Eugène Manet, brother of Edouard, was a noteworthy patron of the work of her less financially successful colleagues. Unlike her sisters, Morisot maintained a career as a professional artist after her marriage.