Arcadópolis
The Mother and Sister of the Artist
Berthe Morisot, 1869–1870
What you see
Two women share a sofa covered in flowered fabric. On the right, the mother, in black, bows her head over a green-bound book; her dark skirt fills the whole lower corner. On the left, the sister, in white with a blue bow in her hair, sits upright. Above them hangs a large gilt frame in which a curtain and a plant can be seen.
The contrast of black and white organizes the whole picture, softened by the pinks of the sofa and the gray of the wall. The strokes on the white dress are long and creamy. Watch for the bunch of purple flowers on the small round table at left and for the ring on the mother’s hand.
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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