Berthe Morisot
1872-1874
Medium
lithograph on chine collé on wove paper
Dimensions
sheet (chine collé): 23.7 × 16.5 cm (9 5/16 × 6 1/2 in.) support: 55.9 × 40.2 cm (22 × 15 13/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1953.6.83
Art Historical Context
In the heart of Paris's vibrant art scene during the early 1870s, Édouard Manet created this intimate lithograph portrait of fellow artist Berthe Morisot, dated 1872–1874. Titled simply *Berthe Morisot*, the work captures the Impressionist painter in a moment of quiet intensity, her gaze direct and poised. Manet, a pivotal figure bridging Realism and Impressionism, produced several portraits of Morisot, his close friend and sister-in-law through marriage to his brother Eugène. This print exemplifies their artistic camaraderie amid the evolving avant-garde. Executed as a lithograph on chine co...
About the Artist
Edouard Manet · 1832–1883
Édouard Manet (1832-1883) was a French painter who played a pivotal role in the transition from Realism to Impressionism, often called the 'Father of Modern Art.' Born into a wealthy Parisian family, Manet defied his father's wishes for a legal career to pursue painting, studying under academic artist Thomas Couture. His revolutionary works 'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe' and 'Olympia' (both 1863) scand...