Berthe Morisot was a French painter who was known as one of the greatest Impressionists of the time. She struggled with being taken as a serious artist by the vastly male artists and critics of the era. Since she was a woman, she had access to the private and intimate lives of other women, something the male Impressionists were unable to do. This gave her a unique perspective within the art community in Paris.
By Berthe Morisot – Photo RMN-Grand Palais, photo: R. G. Ojeda, Public Domain
Berthe Morisot was born January 14, 1841, into a wealthy family, where drawing lessons were common for girls. She and her sisters were given private drawing lessons, which they used to give their father a drawing for his birthday. Their drawing teacher brought them to the Louvre, where Morisot began to copy the paintings in order to learn, as she and her sisters were forbidden from taking formal art lessons. While she was learning from the paintings in the Louvre, Morisot met several other Impressionists such as Manet and Monet.
“Feminine charm” was often used to describe her artwork by male critics. Morisot would write about the struggle trying to be seen as a serious artist. In a journal she wrote, “I don’t think there has ever been a man who treated a woman as an equal and that’s all I would have asked for, for I know I’m worth as much they.” Her works often have symbolism for the celebration of womanhood and would paint the hidden, intimate side of women and children’s lives.
By Berthe Morisot – Berthe Morisot, Public Domain