Arcadópolis
Hanging the Laundry out to Dry
Berthe Morisot, 1875
What you see
An open field is filled with clotheslines running in rows toward the distance. Several small women work among them; one, in a blue skirt, raises her arms toward the line. A cart with a dark cover stands at the center, and on the right is a white house with a reddish roof, surrounded by trees. In front, a wooden fence holds more laundry, and a wide sky stretches above.
The palette is light: beiges, soft greens and whites, with few touches of blue and pink. The garments are mere white strokes, and the figures a few patches without detail. Spot the bright green patch of grass on the left and for the signature “Berthe Morisot” on the fence at lower left.
About Berthe Morisot
Berthe Morisot was a French painter and one of the founders of the Impressionist group: she took part in seven of its eight exhibitions, between 1874 and 1886. With quick, light brushstrokes she painted intimate scenes from the lives of the women around her, such as her mother, her sister Edma and her daughter Julie. She was married to Eugène Manet, brother of the painter Édouard Manet, and in 1896, a year after her death, the Durand-Ruel gallery held a large exhibition of her work in Paris.
More by Berthe Morisot
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