Arcadópolis
The Artist's Daughter with a Parakeet
Berthe Morisot, 1890
What you see
Julie Manet, a girl with reddish hair pulled back, sits at the center facing us, her hands resting on her knees. Her pink dress fills most of the lower half. Behind her on the left is a wooden cage with a green parakeet, topped by a large pale green bow. Her calm face, glancing to one side, is the heart of the composition.
The pink of the dress is built from long, loose strokes that let yellows and whites show through. The background mixes pale blues and grays, and the cage is just a few ochre lines. Look for the pink bow in Julie’s hair and for the blue flowers 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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