The artist was born on the 14th of January 1841 in Bourges, Cher, France.
1841 - 1895
French artist Berthe Morisot, although not a key figure in the formation of Impressionism, played an important role in its development. She was the wife of Edouard Manet’s brother. A student of the most recognized master Camille Corot, she was a progressive artist and achieved stunning heights in arts, especially in painting portraits. Morisot’s paintings are a vivid example of lyricism, femininity and, at the same time, the resilience and courage of the innovator.
The artistic catalogue of Berthe Morisot contains about 400 paintings. She did oil paintings, watercolors and graphics. The French Impressionist had many followers around the world, especially among female painters.
Key ideas:
– One of the few Impressionist women, Berthe Morisot managed to fully convey her main principles in her works. Depicting women’s everyday life events on the canvas, she filled her works with light, air and an unusual harmony of colors.
– Morisot’s friends called her “the master of color.” The artist created a sense of space and depth thanks to the use of saturated colors and an abundance of white, in both pure and mixed forms.
– At first glance, the subjects of Morisot’s paintings are simple and ordinary. The artist did many individual or group portraits, for which family members and friends of the artist became models. Sometimes she painted landscapes or still-lifes. Nevertheless, the audacious artistic temperament and self-confidence can be seen in each work.
– Light and joyful works of the artist were favorably accepted at the official Salon de Paris and enjoyed success. Despite this, Berta joined a circle of outcasts; in modern society, female artists were seen as peculiarities. She showed considerable resilience to criticism and challenged these societal standards.
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The artist was born on the 14th of January 1841 in Bourges, Cher, France.
Moved to Paris and became a student of Joseph Benoit Guichard. Nevertheless, she soon found his artistic method rather unsatisfactory.
Morisot kept studying until 1868. She and her sister became students of Camille Corot, a famous artist.
Her works were exhibited at the Salon de Paris. Two paintings received mostly positive reviews from art critics. Camille Corot was satisfied by those works and asked for them to be credited to a “student of Corot”.
Morisot met Edouard Manet. She became the model for his painting “The balcony”. After the artist became friends with Manet, her style changed.
Joined the group of painters headed by Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro and other artists. Participated in the exhibition “Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors and Engravers” (“Société Anonyme des peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs”), held in the studio of photographer Nadar on the Boulevard des Capucines. This exhibition was later considered the first Impressionist performance.
Morisot took an active part in the Second Impressionist Exhibition. From then on, she participated in all Impressionist exhibitions. She married Edouard Manet’s younger brother. Two years later, the painter gave birth to her daughter, Julie Manet, who became her favorite model.
She died on the 2nd of March in 1895 in Paris, France.
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Romanticism
friends
Edouard Manet
Oscar-Claude Monet
Camille Pissarro
Edgar Degas
Gustave Caillebotte
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
James Whistller
Puvis de Chavannes
artists
Camille Corot
Joseph Guichard
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Post-Impressionism
friends
Edouard Manet
Oscar-Claude Monet
Camille Pissarro
Edgar Degas