Art Guide · Painters
Berthe Morisot
1841–1895
Berthe Morisot (1841–1895) was a French painter and a founding member of Impressionism, who painted the daily lives of women and children with a light, quick, luminous brush.
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Life and work
Born in Bourges, she took lessons from Camille Corot together with her sister Edma. She showed at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 and took part in seven of the eight exhibitions. That same year she married Eugène Manet, Édouard Manet’s brother.
The Cradle (1872, Musée d’Orsay), shown at the 1874 exhibition, depicts her sister Edma watching over her sleeping baby Blanche; the soft light through the muslin is emblematic of Morisot’s delicate style.
Key works
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Who is in The Cradle?
The painter’s sister Edma Pontillon and her baby daughter Blanche.