La Broderie (1889)

Berthe Morisot prints bring the quiet, everyday side of Impressionism into your home. A founding member of the movement and the only woman in its first exhibition in 1874, Morisot painted mothers and children, sisters reading in gardens, laundry drying in the sun and boats in small harbors. Our collection gathers more than a hundred of her paintings and studies as fine art prints, from The Cradle to The Harbor at Lorient.

About Berthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot was born in Bourges, France, on 14 January 1841, and her family moved to Paris in 1852. She and her sister Edma took drawing lessons as girls, copied paintings in the Louvre from 1858, and in the early 1860s were introduced to the landscape painter Camille Corot, who encouraged her to work outdoors.

Morisot first showed at the official Paris Salon in 1864. In 1868 Henri Fantin-Latour introduced her to Édouard Manet, who became a close friend and painted her many times. In 1874 she joined Monet, Renoir, Degas and Pissarro in the first independent exhibition of the group soon called the Impressionists. She showed in every one of their exhibitions but one, missing only 1879, a few months after her daughter was born.

Also in 1874, she married Manet's brother Eugène. Their daughter, Julie Manet, born in 1878, became her favorite model. Morisot died in Paris on 2 March 1895, aged 54. In 1894 the critic Gustave Geffroy named her, with Mary Cassatt and Marie Bracquemond, one of the three great ladies of Impressionism.

Style and Subjects

Morisot painted the world she lived in: drawing rooms and dining rooms, gardens, parks, seaside towns, and the women and children of her own family. Her sister Edma, her mother and her daughter Julie appear again and again. Like the other Impressionists she also painted landscapes and boats, especially on holidays at the coast and in the Bois de Boulogne.

Her brushwork is quick and feathery, and by about 1880 it grew looser still, often leaving the edges of a canvas unfinished. She favored a light palette with a generous use of white, so even her interiors feel airy. She worked in oil, watercolor and pastel, and in her later years drawing played a larger part, with simpler shapes and off-center compositions influenced by Japanese prints and photography.

Famous Works

• The Harbor at Lorient (1869), National Gallery of Art, Washington. Her sister Edma sits on a harbor wall under a parasol.
• The Mother and Sister of the Artist (1869–70), National Gallery of Art, Washington. Her mother reads beside Edma, dressed in white.
• The Cradle (1872), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Edma watches over her sleeping baby daughter.
• Hanging the Laundry Out to Dry (1875), National Gallery of Art, Washington. A bright suburban garden full of white washing, painted in loose, rapid strokes.
• The Psyche Mirror (1876), Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. A young woman checks her dress in a tall mirror in a pale, light-filled room.
• Summer's Day (1879), National Gallery, London. Two women in a rowing boat, painted in fast, open strokes.
• In the Dining Room (1886), National Gallery of Art, Washington. A maid pauses in a sunny dining room, painted with some of her freest brushwork.

Decorating with Morisot Prints

Morisot's soft whites, pale blues and gentle pinks suit calm rooms. Her mothers and babies, such as The Cradle, are a natural choice for a nursery or a bedroom, while her portraits of girls reading, sewing or arranging their hair sit well in a bedroom, dressing area or reading corner.

For living rooms and kitchens, try her garden and harbor scenes: Hanging the Laundry Out to Dry, The Harbor at Lorient or her views of Nice and Cherbourg bring in light and open air. Because so many of her paintings show the same few people, a small group of her family portraits also works well hung together on a hallway or staircase wall.

Frequently Asked Questions

What art movement was Berthe Morisot part of?

Morisot was a founding member of Impressionism. She exhibited in the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris in 1874, the only woman to do so that year, and took part in all but one of the group's eight exhibitions.

What is Berthe Morisot's most famous painting?

The Cradle (1872), showing her sister Edma beside her sleeping baby, is her best-known work. It is in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Where can I see Berthe Morisot's original paintings?

Major collections include the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the National Gallery in London and the Art Institute of Chicago.

How was Berthe Morisot related to Édouard Manet?

She was his sister-in-law. Morisot married Manet's younger brother, Eugène, in 1874. Édouard Manet was also a close friend who painted her portrait many times.

How can I recognize a Berthe Morisot painting?

Look for quick, feathery brushstrokes, lots of white and pale color, and intimate scenes of women and children at home or outdoors. Edges are often left loose or unfinished.

Related Artists

• Édouard Manet, friend, frequent portraitist and later brother-in-law
• Mary Cassatt, fellow Impressionist who also painted mothers and children
• Claude Monet, who showed beside her at the first Impressionist exhibition
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir, a close friend who shared her love of light, color and portraits
• Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, who encouraged her early outdoor painting