Morisot, Berthe |
| PAINTER (FRANCE) |
|
BORN 14 Jan 1841, Bourges, Cher - DIED 2 Mar 1895, Paris GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Passy Cimetière, 2 Rue du Commandant Schloesing (division 04) |
|
First female French impressionist. She was a granddaughter of the painter Fragonard and the youngest daughter of the prefect of Cher. In 1859 she met Fantin-Latour and she studied under the famous Corot. When she was at a copying session at the Louvre with her sister Edma she met Edouard Manet. Manet was deeply impressed by her great looks and they soon became friends. Reportedly, they also fell in love, but Manet was already married. Although she was a talented painter herself she valued Manet's advice highly and she willingly posed for ten of his paintings, starting with "The Balcony". She also influenced Manet, who started to use the impressionst technique and palette, although he didn't want to be one of the impressionists himself. After she married his younger brother Eugène in 1874 she no longer sat for him, but they always remained close friends. She also knew Manet's friend Baudelaire, when the latter was already seriously ill with syphilis. In the last year of his life she used to visit him and play Wagner on the piano. In 1879 her daughter Julie was born. Berthe Morisot exhibited at all the Impressionist Exhibitions, except that of 1879. After 1885 her works shows the influence of Renoir. Family • Daughter: Manet, Julie Related persons • was a friend of Baudelaire, Charles • was pupil of Corot, Camille • knew Fantin-Latour, Henri • was painted by Manet, Édouard • painted Manet, Julie |
| Images |
 The grave of Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot at the Passy cemetery, Paris. Picture by Androom (29 Mar 2010) |
Sources • Culbertson, Judi & Tom Randall, Permanent Parisians, Robson Books, London, 1991 • Murray, Peter & Linda Murray, The Penguin Dictionary of Arts & Artists, Fourth Edition, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1981 • The Great Artists 14 - Manet, Marshall Cavendish Partworks, London, 1985 |
