About the
Artist
Born January
14, 1841, in Bourges, France, Berthe Morisot was the third daughter
of a prominent and wealthy government official.
The family
moved to Paris in 1852, where her father served as the Judicial
Adviser to the Auditor's Office. This powerful position, with
its high salary and important political associations, allowed
the Morisots to lead a privileged lifestyle as members of the
upper middle class.
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Berthe
Morisot
Julie Manet and Her Greyhound Laerte, 1893
Oil on canvas
Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris,
France/Giraudon/Bridgeman Art Library |
Raised accordingly,
Morisot and her sisters were provided tutors for languages and
literature and, in 1857, art lessons. Morisot and her older sister
Edma quickly developed both a passion and a high level of skill
in drawing and painting. Alongside her sister, Morisot copied
masterpieces at the Louvre and painted out of doors under the
direction of well-known landscape painter Camille Corot. She first
exhibited her paintings at the prestigious annual Salon in 1864,
and her work was shown there regularly through 1873.
In the winter
of 1868-1869, Morisot's artistic career and personal life took
an important turn when she was introduced to Edouard Manet. Manet's
reputation and aesthetic innovations were well known to Morisot,
and they began a lifelong friendship. Over the course of the next
five years, Manet would paint Morisot 11 times. While Morisot
learned much from Manet, she never formally studied with him.
She often disagreed with his suggestions, most notably in her
decision to join the Impressionist circle. In 1874, Edgar Degas
asked Morisot to join a group of independent artists that included
Degas, as well as Monet, Renoir, and Camille Pissarro. They later
became known as the Impressionists. Degas and his colleagues declared
that Morisot's pictorial technique, with her loose brushstrokes,
unfinished backgrounds, and light-infused color exemplified the
Impressionists' aesthetic aims. Morisot remained faithful to the
Impressionists after others abandoned the movement, participating
in seven of the eight exhibitions and single-handedly organizing
the final show in 1886.
Perhaps Manet's
greatest influence on her was the introduction of his brother
Eugène to her family; Morisot wed Eugène Manet in
December 1874 at the mature age of 33, well after she was established
as a professional artist, and several months after her participation
in the first Impressionist exhibition. Eugène readily supported
his wife's career, never asking her to abandon her painting for
matrimony, yet despite his acceptance of her art, Eugène
in particular and men in general appear extremely infrequently
in Morisot's paintings. Her wide range of subjects often included
portraits of her mother, sisters, and nieces, as well as of her
own daughter Julie, to whom she gave birth in 1878, and who would
become her favorite model and painting companion; still lifes;
landscapes; and the domestic scene, particularly traditional feminine
occupations.
Morisot continued
to paint and exhibit in her later years, receiving her first solo
exhibition only a few weeks after her husband's death in 1892.
While selling paintings had never been a priority for Morisot,
she actively collected works by her colleagues, including Manet
and Monet. In these years, Julie became her mother's constant
companion, painting alongside her just as Edma had done years
earlier, joining her visits with Renoir, Monet, and Degas, and
helping to fill the void left by Eugène's death. In 1895,
Morisot died from pneumonia at the age of 54, leaving the majority
of her works and collection to Julie who served as Morisot's champion
by lending her works to international exhibitions until her own
death in 1966, ensuring her mother a prominent place in the French
avant-garde tradition.
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