Berthe Morisot was a French painter born on January 14, 1841. She was one of France’s “trois grandes dames” of Impressionism, a nickname given by Gustave Geffroy to her, Marie Bracquemond, and Mary Cassatt. (In case you’re wondering, that translates into the “three big ladies.”)
Morisot was of a bourgeois family, and in such families it was not uncommon for the daughters to receive an art education. She gained much practice by observing and copying paintings in the Louvre. She worked with her sister Edma until Edma was married, and after that Berthe continued to develop her own skills and to exhibit her work.
Morisot was known for her small works, created in oils, watercolor, or pastel in loose brushstrokes. She painted the things she experienced herself, and she often turned to her family as models for her work.
Below are shown The Artist’s Daughter, Julie, with her Nanny; Summer Day;
On the Balcony; and The Mother and Sister of the Artist.
