A Movement All on Her Own

Prior to Berthe Morisot, female artists were greatly confined to specific rules and regulations when producing art. They were told to stay inside, to “stay between the lines,” and to paint what they knew to be admirable. Because of these expectations for women, formal and free education was reserved mostly for male prodigies forcing their female counterparts to pay large sums of money for private lessons. In light of her given situation, Morisot used the new movement, Impressionism, as her launching pad. Impressionism presented itself as a way for artists to capture the “here and now” rather than returning again and again to classical references and strict orders of painting as done before. It would be this daring and electric time in art modernization that Morisot broke through the chains of tradition. With this exhibition, we seek to trace and chronicle the advances Morisot made throughout her career. From her subjects to her technique, Morisot set out on a seemingly rebellious career that would leave its mark not only on female artists to come but the entirety of the art world as well.

Calvary (after Veronese), Berthe Morisot, 1858, oil on canvas, dimensions unknown Private Collection

On the outside, before Morisot’s involvement with the Impressionist movement, she seemed to be no different from any other young art student. Taught to accurately depict stories of the past, Morisot beautifully represented images such as this, Christ’s crucifixion, in a seemingly effortless yet impactful manner. Painted in murky and tonal colors, Morsiot had a way of painting the figures' bodies so that they invoked an emotional response of sorrow and despair from the viewer. This type of religious piece would have been expected out of a young female artist at this time. Therefore for Morisot, art was the practice of repeating what had already been accomplished by those before her rather than a pure expression of talent and purpose.

Berthe Morisot, Edma Morisot, 1865, oil on canvas, dimensions unknown, location unknown

Quite consistently throughout the lineage of art making, no matter the time or the movement, we find pieces of art that were produced purely to exemplify the artist’s knowledge and skill. However in this piece by Edma Morisot, Berthe Morisot’s younger sister, we see an impressionable young woman admiring the skills and ambitions of her role model. Berthe stands firm in this composition with her easel and palette framing her inward. It seems as though Edma knew before everyone else that her sister was well on her way to advance the endless possibilities of creation. Rather than showing off her own talents, which are to be admired here, Edma Morisot chose to illustrate her older sister as she started a movement all on her own within the explosion of Impressionism.

Portrait of the Artist’s Mother and Sister, Berthe Morisot, 1869-1870, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, US, 81.8 x 101cm

It’s no doubt that the women around Morisot during the time of her training were detrimental to her ruthless ambition of honing in on her skill. While her sister Edma, portrayed on the left, took lessons alongside her, it was her mother on the right who encouraged Morisot to paint how and what she wanted. In this piece we see the controlled and smooth lines taught to Morisot in her initial training, however the depiction of this scene is more personal and “real” than we have seen before. Here Morisot has painted their mother reading Edma a piece of literature, either for school or leisure. Although this scene may seem ordinary and expected, is Morisot secretly exposing the reality of ideals held for women? To stay inside and consume their time with learning?

Woman and Child on the Balcony, Berthe Morisot, 1872, pencil and watercolor on paper, 24 x 19 ½  in., Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

If there is one characteristic that best suits Berthe Morisot, it would be repetition. Morisot separates women and children from the male-dominated world in the vast majority of her work. Using physical structures such as walls, balconies, doors, and railings, much like we see here, Morisot uses these elements to visually represent the constricting opportunities set forth for women as compared to men in the art industry. Furthermore, if we look back at her previous painting, Portrait of the Artist’s Mother and Sister, we notice her mother dressed in black linens while her sister is in white. This same symbolism between mother and child is seen here and, like her compositions, is repeatedly painted in her work. Therefore not only is she shedding light on social injustices created by men, but she continuously praises the influence of two women who gave her the strength to do so.

Young Woman Seated on a Sofa, Berthe Morisot, 1879, oil on canvas, 31 ¾ x 39 ¼ in., 1992.103.2

With her motives made clear in her subjects, Moriost began to experiment with her technique. On this canvas in particular we can see this experimentation come to fruition. We still have the separation between woman and world with the balcony railing to the left and the door to the right, however the paint is almost thrown onto the canvas as opposed to the safe and clear representation we find on her earlier pieces. These light brush strokes and pastel colors would take a liking to Morisot as most of the work towards the end or her career are painted in this way. Set aside the attention given to Morisot based on the motives behind her paintings, this technique was so far from what she had learned as a young adult that it received enough attention by itself.

Getting Up, Berthe Morisot,1885-86, oil on canvas, Private Collection

If access to formal education was limited to young aspiring female artists, the ability to study the human form, let alone the nude human form, was far from a possibility. Well into Morisot's journey of personal expression, she somehow figured out how to take her subtle jabs at social norms one step further. Slowly but surely, Morisot exposed the female subjects she so religiously painted. From casual shoulder slips like this piece here, to full nude Venus images found in her later work, the women in her art took on completely different meanings. No longer did they need to be properly pampered with their hair tied back. Or covered from head to toe in heavy linens, but rather they were normalized and relaxed. This would be what drove the Impressionist movement: depicting life as it is, rather than what we expect it to be or thought it to be.

Young Girl Putting on Her Stockings, Berthe Morisot, date unknown, oil on canvas, 21 ½ x 18 in., Private Collection

Out of all of Berthe Morisot’s work, this painting by far is the best representation of the transformation she made in the entirety of her career. Subject, technique and motive have all taken on a new life form for this adventurous painter. She defies the rules of tradition by elevating the female status seen in their dominant presence on her canvases while in parallel paving a way for young women to push the “rules of art making” much like she did. Therefore, with Impressionism as her backdrop, Morisot successfully launched herself into a world that invites the representation of “living in the moment,” but even more so, living in the moment as a strong and natural woman.