Art Appreciation – May/June 2023
In our May meeting, David Gearing gave a very interesting presentation on the French impressionist Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). She was one of the few female artists that many of us will have heard of, and will be familiar with the beautiful painting of a mother sitting with her baby in a cradle. It was interesting to learn how her career as an artist was affected by the fact that she was a woman.
Both Berthe and her sister Edma were talented artists and had private art lessons, but as women were barred from formal art training. As part of their education, they copied paintings in the Louvre but were not allowed to go unchaperoned. Edma chose not to continue her career as an artist when she married, but Berthe painted throughout her life although her sex meant that she was largely restricted to domestic subjects. She was strongly influenced by her teacher Edouard Manet, and it seems that they had a romantic relationship but he was already married. Berthe married Manet’s brother who was very supportive of her career.
From 1874 she exhibited at all but one of the main impressionist exhibitions. Her work reveals a genuinely spontaneous impressionistic technique, painting en plein aire. In recent years she has become the most highly priced female artist with her work often selling for many millions of dollars.
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 13th June when I will give a presentation on the French artist Odilon Redon.
Lynne Vick