Berthe Morisot - Female Impressionist Painter

Artist Berthe Morisot was born on January 14, 1841 in Bourges, France. Her father was a successful businessman and she had a sister, Edma. The family believed that they had the artist Fragonard in their ancestry.

In the early 1860s, Morisot and her sister began studying painting with Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot of the Barbizon school of painters. As well as teaching them landscape painting and other techniques, Corot introduced the girls to other artists. Berthe and her sister studied and painted together until Edma married and had a child.

In 1864, two of Morisot’s landscape paintings were accepted for show at the Salon de Paris. In 1868, she became friends with fellow artist Edouard Manet. They helped each other to perfect their art and it was Morisot who introduced Manet to the Impressionists and convinced him to show his art with them. Berthe married Manet’s brother Eugene in 1874, forever tying the two friends together.The couple had one daughter.

Morisot had many of her paintings accepted by the Salon de Paris but from 1873 on, Morisot exhibited with the Impressionists. She, along with Mary Cassatt, was one of the few female Impressionist painters. And, like Cassatt, a lot of Morisot’s paintings feature women and children or domestic scenes.

Berthe Morisot died on March 2, 1895.

Like many of the Impressionists, the artwork of Berthe Morisot has shown up on everything from coasters, to calendars, to bookmarks, to notebooks. Her style is very pleasing to the eye and I’m sure we will continue to see it being used on merchandise.

A love of nature is a consolation against failure.

It is important to express oneself... provided the feelings are real and are taken from your own experience.

Real painters understand with a brush in their hand.