The Artists

Berthe Morisot
The soul of Impressionism

Portrait of Berthe Morisot

“It is important to express oneself… provided the feelings are real and are taken from your own experience” — Berthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot was born in Bourges, France, into an affluent family. In 1852 the family moved to Paris, and as was common among daughters of the bourgeois, Berthe and her sisters Yves and Edma began an artistic education, tutored by Joseph Guichard. At age 16, Guichard introduced Berthe to the Louvre gallery where she learned by copying artworks by the Old Masters. One of Berthe’s earliest known works is her Calvary, copied from Paolo Veronese’s 1588 painting. Though her sisters eventually married and moved away, Berthe continued her study.

In the Paris art world in 1860, women were not allowed to join official arts institutions. But by 19 years old, Morisot’s skills had already been recognized, and she registered as a copyist at the Louvre. The Louvre was an opportunity to mingle with artists and teachers including Camille Corot and Achille Oudinot, painters of the Barbizon School. Under Corot’s influence, Berthe took up plein air painting, moving from the studio to the dappled light of the French countryside and into the center of the burgeoning Impressionist movement.

Her landscape paintings won Berthe her first exhibition at the celebrated Salon de Paris, in 1864. Memory on the Banks of l’Oise, and The Old Track at Auvers were received well by the French Academy, though they were closely compared to Corot’s painting from the same show. Morisot ‘reacted unfavorably’ to the criticism, but her work was well positioned within the academic community, and she went on to show work at the salon in 1865, 1866, 1868, 1870, 1872 and 1873.


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Reed Enger, "Berthe Morisot, The soul of Impressionism," in Obelisk Art History, Published January 23, 2015; last modified October 27, 2022, http://www.arthistoryproject.com/artists/berthe-morisot/.

Berthe Morisot was a French Woman Artist born on January 14, 1841. Morisot contributed to the Impressionist movement and died on March 2, 1895.

Calvary (After Veronese), Berthe Morisot

Calvary (After Veronese) 1858

Memory of the Banks of l'Oise, Berthe Morisot

Memory of the Banks of l'Oise 1863

The Old Track to Auvers, Berthe Morisot

The Old Track to Auvers 1863

View of Tivoli (After Corot), Berthe Morisot

View of Tivoli (After Corot) 1863

Portrait of the Artist's Mother and Sister, Berthe Morisot

Portrait of the Artist's Mother and Sister 1869 – 1870

Edma with her Daughter Jeanne, Berthe Morisot

Edma with her Daughter Jeanne 1872

Hide and Seek (Cache-Cache), Berthe Morisot

Hide and Seek (Cache-Cache) 1873

In a Villa at the Seaside, Berthe Morisot

In a Villa at the Seaside 1874

Portrait of Edma Pontillon, Berthe Morisot

Portrait of Edma Pontillon 1872 – 1875

Dahlias, Berthe Morisot

Dahlias 1876

The Cheval Glass, Berthe Morisot

The Cheval Glass 1876

Young Woman and Child Avenue du Bois, Berthe Morisot

Young Woman and Child Avenue du Bois 1876

Young Girl in a Ball Gown, Berthe Morisot

Young Girl in a Ball Gown 1879

Winter (Woman with a Muff), Berthe Morisot

Winter (Woman with a Muff) 1880

Young Woman at the Mirror, Berthe Morisot

Young Woman at the Mirror 1880

Pasie Sewing in Bougivals Garden, Berthe Morisot

Pasie Sewing in Bougivals Garden 1881

The Fable, Berthe Morisot

The Fable 1883

The Quay at Bougival, Berthe Morisot

The Quay at Bougival 1883

Young Woman Knitting, Berthe Morisot

Young Woman Knitting 1883

In the Garden at Maurecourt, Berthe Morisot

In the Garden at Maurecourt 1884

Venus at the Forge of Vulcan (after Boucher), Berthe Morisot

Venus at the Forge of Vulcan (after Boucher) 1883 – 1884

Woman Wearing Gloves (The Parisian), Berthe Morisot

Woman Wearing Gloves (The Parisian) 1885

The Bath, Berthe Morisot

The Bath 1885 – 1886

Reading, Berthe Morisot

Reading 1888

Before the Mirror, Berthe Morisot

Before the Mirror 1890

The Cherry Picker, Berthe Morisot

The Cherry Picker 1891

The Cherry Tree (Study), Berthe Morisot

The Cherry Tree (Study) 1891

The Reclining Shepherdess, Berthe Morisot

The Reclining Shepherdess 1891

Jeanne Pontillon Wearing a Hat, Berthe Morisot

Jeanne Pontillon Wearing a Hat 1893

Two Girls, Berthe Morisot

Two Girls 1894

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