Berthe Morisot. Masterpieces of Art

Regarded by her fellow impressionists as a ‘virtuoso colourist’, Berthe Morisot (1841–95) strove to be considered an equal among her male peers — an uphill struggle at a time when women were generally forbidden from taking formal artistic training. Nevertheless, she succeeded in forging a career, gaining respect, becoming a key player and creating a body of work that has stood the test of time. Her impressionism vibrates with light and spontaneity and yet possesses a density of form through the deft use of colour. Inevitably she painted what she experienced: scenes of intimate domestic and family life, gardens, flowers, landscapes — representing the real, unfiltered day-to-day life of 19th-century women — from the tender depiction of maternal love in The Cradle to the Far-Eastern inspired Julie with her Greyhound Laлrte.