Woman in a Garden

Notes from the museum

This work was probably begun in the summer of 1882, when Berthe Morisot and her family rented a house in Bougival, a picturesque village along the Seine River in northern France. Morisot spent the season there with her husband, Eugène Manet (artist Édouard Manet's brother), and their nearly four-year-old daughter, Julie. The child wearing a straw hat in the background of this painting is likely based on Julie, while the identity of the main figure is unknown. Morisot applied paint as if she were making a landscape in the Impressionist style, slashing acid green pigments and bluish ochers across the canvas to transcribe the effects of dappled sunlight without differentiating between the strokes used for the figure and setting.

Text: Art Institute of Chicago (open access). Our full story for this work is coming soon.

Slow Look

1. The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
2. The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
3. The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
4. One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
5. The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?

About Berthe Morisot

Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot was a French painter, printmaker and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists.

Painter profile →