Berthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot (maw-re-SO) 1841-1895

French Impressionist

Berthe Morisot was the first woman to join the Vocabulary circle of the French Impressionist painters, exhibiting in all but one of their shows. Born into En Plein Air – French expression meaning ʻin the wealth and culture, she went against convention open airʼ. Particularly advocated by Impressionist by choosing to pursue painting as her lifeʼs work. painters to capture natural light and ʻimpressionʼ Studying painting under Camille Corot, she or beauty of the outdoors. became exposed to many artists including Edouard Manet, who became her brother-in-law in Genre scene—A scene of ordinary people doing 1874. After befriending Manet, she changed her everyday things. focus from painting out-of-doors to portraits. Over the years she influenced Manetʼs palette and Impressionism—A style of art in which the main encouraged him to loosen his brushwork and idea is to show changes in the light, color, or abandon the use of black. Morisot was frequently action of scenes. a model for his paintings.

Morisotʼs works were typically small in scale and limited to subjects that a woman from the “upper middle-class” could paint. They were usually Art Elements studies of women, either out-of-doors or in domestic settings. Generally they contained one Color—Color has three properties: hue, or the or two figures, often family members, rendered in name of the color; value, or the lightness or bright unblended colors, with loose feathery darkness of the color; and intensity, or the purity brushstrokes that became her trademark. Morisot of the color. Warm colors appear to come forward balanced opposites in her paintings: light and dark in a painting, while cool colors appear to recede. colors, active versus calm figures, or pensive Color schemes are groups of colors that combine figures in vivid surroundings. Her color harmonies to give certain effects. Morisot used bright colors were subtle and always included white tones, with color harmonies, using primarily analogous lending a fresh and graceful feeling to her (colors that are next to each other on the color paintings. wheel) color schemes. The result was color unity with one color dominating the painting despite the Her work was often criticized for appearing presence of other colors. Morisot also used white “unfinished” because she left areas of the canvas in all her compositions. unpainted to let the loose brushwork offer subtle textures, giving the effect of a fleeting moment in Texture—Texture refers to the surface quality, time. This technique and her choice of genre both simulated and actual, of artwork. Artists show scenes made her the quintessential texture by using the dry brush technique, which “Impressionist.” Considered an amateur by the simulates texture, or by the heavy application of critics, she gained the admiration of her pigment to produce the actual quality of texture. Impressionist colleagues and outsold Monet, Morisot did not try to blend her brushstrokes or Renoir and Sisley at auctions. hide the painting process when she applied paint, resulting in a very feathery texture on her painting surface (actual texture). She frequently left areas of the canvas unpainted to let the texture of the canvas show through her work.

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 08/12 1 Berthe Morisot

Art Principles

Balance—Balance refers to the distribution of visual weight in an artwork, and can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical. When elements on both sides of a central vertical line appear to be about equal in shape, weight, value, and color, there is symmetrical balance. In asymmetrical balance the two sides are different, but are in visual balance. Value balance occurs when a small shape of light value seems to balance a large shape of middle value. Color balances the same way: a small intense color shape balances a larger one of neutral color. Our eyes are drawn to the colorful shape, giving it more visual weight. Morisot used both symmetrical and asymmetrical balance in her compositions. She balanced opposites, such as active vs. inactive figures, while also balancing shapes, values and colors.

Unity—Visual unity is planned by the artist, providing the cohesive quality that makes an artwork feel complete. Placing elements in clusters, repeating shapes, textures and colors, and creating a similar overall surface treatment all contribute to unity. Morisot used a dominant color scheme, often with white tones, to unify texture, color and theme. Her figures were integrated into the setting through repetition of shape, color, and texture.

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 08/12 2