The unusual relationship between Édouard Manet and fellow artist and model Berthe Morisot has been an object of speculation throughout the years. Introduced through a mutual friend, the two were immediately charmed by one another and a close friendship soon followed. Even though Manet was married to Suzanne Leenhoff and Morisot was the wife of his younger brother Edmund, Morisot frequently sat for portraits and the two collaborated closely on artistic ideas. Manet would often help Morisot with her work, while she would give advice on his pieces. This close relationship has often been speculated to be an affair by historians, but there is no actual evidence to support this. Nevertheless, Manet’s intimate relationship with Morisot is one of significance because of the contrast between Morisot and Manet’s other models. Manet painted many women including students, his wife, and aristocracy, but Morisot’s portraits are strikingly different. Her dark features are heightened to beckon the viewer into her space while the detailed but shrouded brushstrokes create an aura of the unknown. There is also a sensual depth found in Manet’s portrayals of Morisot that is lacking in his other portraits. Édouard Manet seems to see Morisot as his entrancing equal, a model above the rest.
Madame Manet (Suzanne Leenhoff, 1830–1906) at Bellevue
Artist: Édouard Manet (French, Paris 1832–1883 Paris)
Date: 1880
Medium: Oil on canvas
Accession Number: 1997.391.4
Manet depicts his wife, Suzanne, against a green garden in cream and navy. Her profile is obscured by the brim of her hat and what we can see of her face looks stoic. This painting is one of the five portraits of his wife and the last one he did before he died. The artist’s rough brushwork seems to display a lack of attention to detail while her hidden face fails to create an emotional connection. The painting is overall pleasing to the eye, but lacks the warmth that one would think to see in a portrait of the artist’s wife.
Young Lady in 1866
Artist: Édouard Manet (French, Paris 1832–1883 Paris)
Date: 1866
Medium: Oil on canvas
Accession Number: 89.21.3
Victorine Muerent is painted here in a light, pink dressing gown gazing demurely out of the frame. Also a talented artist, Muerent modeled for Manet several times and was the subject of his notorious Olympia. This painting contrasts with that of the brazen Olympia and Manet’s portrait of Morisot with its soft color palette and Muerent’s mild face and form. It also portrays Muerent as feminine subject for the viewers consumption rather than an portrayal of a fellow artist.
Women with Fans
Artist: Édouard Manet
Date: 1873
Medium: Oil on canvas
Accession Number/Location: Musée d’Orsay
This portrait of Nina de Callias echoes the focused painting of this exhibition. While Morisot and Callias are both reclining in black gowns, the latter is surrounded by a wall of gold fans. Callias is also more heavily adorned in gold and feathers creating a sense of heaviness, also seen in her tired expression and hand placement. The color palette of the piece also lacks the warmth found in Morisot’s portrait. Although the two paintings are similar, one can see the vivacious warmth that describes Morisot portrait is lacking in this one.
Eva Gonzalés
Artist: Édouard Manet
Date: 1870
Medium: Oil on canvas
Accession Number or Location: National Gallery; Sainsbury Wing Exhibition
Eva Gonzalés entered into Manet’s studio as a student and model during the early stages of Morisot and Manet’s friendship. Morisot, at times, felt threatened by Gonzalés presence in Manet’s studio and looked to be her superior. In this portrait Gonzalés is depicted at her easel in a white muslin dress and dark ribbon, similar to the dress that Berthe Morisot wears in The Balcony. While Morisot appears pensive and youthful in The Balcony, Gonzalés seems rigid and solemn. Her face is defined but dull and slightly flaccid, lacking a sense of life that is found in Morisot’s eyes. This painting seems to suggest that Gonzalés was, indeed, inferior to Morisot’s charms.
The Balcony
Artist: Édouard Manet
Date: 1868-1869
Medium: Oil on canvas
Accession Number/Location: Musée d’Orsay
This painting marks the beginning of Morisot and Manet’s friendship. Even at this early stage in their relationship Morisot receives careful attention to her painted figure. Her face and body stands in bold contrast the other woman portrayed, Antoine Guillemet. Morisot’s piercing eyes glimmer while Guillemet’s eyes are subtle smudges on her face. Morisot’s eyes seem to reflect Manet’s admiration and respect for his model. In Manet’s portraits of Morisot, he paints her eyes in a way that captures and contains the viewers, maybe in the same way she captured Manet’s attention.
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