1841 - 1895

Berthe Morisot is just one of those artists you can’t help but fall in love with. She was a French Impressionist whose work revolves around family bonds and the relationship between parents and their children, much like her American Impressionist counterpart Mary Cassatt. Berthe had a close friendship with Edouard Manet, (her career would arguably have not been the same without him), and went on to marry his brother Eugene in 1874. They had a daughter called Julie, who became the subject of works by Manet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

On the Balcony 1872

Berthe’s earlier work frequently features her sister Edma, who gave up painting after she began having children. The Cradle is a well-known example of Edma as a subject in Berthe’s work. On the Balcony is another painting from the same year and it also features Edma’s daughter Jeanne.

As well as intimate portrait scenes, Morisot also experimented with the en plein air (outside art) technique of the Impressionists. I love the vivid yellow in The Grain Field and the way Morisot has used the rule of thirds as a composition base.

Grain Field c.1875