Biography
She was born in Bourges in 1841[8]. Her parents built a studio in the family garden for Berthe and her sister Edma, who was equally talented. Edma abandoned painting when she married a naval officer in 1869[8]. Berthe, having lost her collaborator, held on harder. She exhibited ten works at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, the only woman showing. She participated in every Impressionist show except 1879, the year her daughter Julie was born.
Edouard Manet painted her portrait repeatedly before she married his brother Eugene in 1874[8]. She had sworn to stay single. Eugene gave up his own painting ambitions so she could pursue hers. Whatever the nature of her relationship with Edouard, it produced some of his finest portraits and left a subject that art historians have been circling for over a century.
She painted the domestic world of women with a directness that the male Impressionists could not access: mothers and daughters, women at their toilette, the garden, the drawing room. The brushwork is rapid and unfinished-looking, more so than Monet's. She died of pneumonia in 1895[8], aged fifty-four, caught while nursing her daughter through the same illness. She wrote to sixteen-year-old Julie the day before.
Timeline
- 1841Born in Bourges into a cultivated upper-bourgeois family; her father was a senior government official and her mother a grandniece of the painter Fragonard.
- 1864Aged 23, made her Salon debut with two landscape paintings; trained under Corot, whose informal plein-air approach shaped her early work profoundly.
- 1868Aged 27, introduced to Édouard Manet at the Louvre by Henri Fantin-Latour; the two became close friends and mutual artistic influences, and she modelled for several of his major canvases.
- 1874Aged 33, showed The Cradle at the first Impressionist exhibition, one of the most celebrated works in the show; the same year she married Eugène Manet, the painter's younger brother.
- 1879Aged 38, gave birth to her daughter Julie Manet, who became a constant presence in her paintings and, later, an important witness to the Impressionist circle through her published diaries.
- 1895Died in Paris aged 54 from pneumonia contracted whilst nursing Julie through influenza; a major retrospective was organised by her friends Monet, Renoir, and Degas the following year.
Notable Works
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Where to See Berthe Morisot
33 museums worldwide.
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48 works
National Gallery of Art
Washington D.C., United States
Mon–Sat 10:00–17:00, Sun 11:00–18:00 · Free
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11 worksMetropolitan Museum of Art
New York City, United States
Sun–Tue, Thu 10:00–17:00; Fri–Sat 10:00–21:00; closed Wed · Adults $30, students $17 (pay-what-you-wish for NY residents)
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10 works
Musée d'Orsay
Paris, France
Tue–Sun 09:30–18:00 (Thu until 21:45); closed Mon · €16 adults
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4 works
Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, United States
Mon 11:00-17:00, Tue closed, Wed 11:00-17:00, Thu 11:00-20:00, Fri-Sun 11:00-17:00 · $32 adults (Chicago/Illinois residents less; under 14 free)
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Berthe Morisot prints
Hand-finished archival prints from Berthe Morisot's body of work.
Julie Manet, Reading in a Chaise Lounge - Berthe Morisot
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Young Woman Leaning - Berthe Morisot
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Self-portrait with Daughter Julie - Berthe Morisot
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Julie Manet and Her Nurse - Berthe Morisot
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Boats (Entry of the Midina to the Isle of Wight) - Berthe Morisot
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Wooded Landscape - Berthe Morisot
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See all Berthe Morisot prints →Frequently Asked Questions
Berthe morisot art movement?
Berthe Morisot helped to form the group’s artistic philosophy and organise its exhibitions. She painted *The Pink Dress* before the first Impressionist exhibition, already working with their signature approach.Did berthe morisot have children?
Yes, Berthe Morisot had a daughter. She participated in every Impressionist show except 1879[8], the year her daughter Julie was born.Did berthe morisot marry?
Yes, Berthe Morisot married Eugene Manet in 1874[8]. She had sworn to stay single, but Eugene gave up his own painting ambitions so she could pursue hers.How did berthe morisot die?
Berthe Morisot died in 1895[8] at the age of 54.Is berthe morisot an impressionist?
Yes, Berthe Morisot was an Impressionist. She participated in most of the Impressionist exhibitions.Was berthe morisot married to manet?
No, Berthe Morisot was not married to Manet. She married his brother Eugene in 1874[8].What is berthe morisot famous for?
Berthe Morisot is famous for participating in most of the Impressionist exhibitions. Critics acknowledged her 'strong standing among the other Impressionists'.When did berthe morisot start painting?
The biography does not state when Berthe Morisot started painting. However, in 1868[8], at twenty-seven years old, she had an impeccable artistic pedigree.Where can i see berthe morisot paintings?
Berthe Morisot's works can be seen at National Gallery of Art, Musée Marmottan Monet, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and 2 other museums worldwide.Who is berthe morisot?
Berthe Morisot was a painter who participated in most of the Impressionist exhibitions. In the mid-nineteenth century, a woman painter was a rare phenomenon, and in the aesthetic camp hostile to official art, she was the only one.Why did berthe morisot paint?
Berthe Morisot painted the Normandy area, especially around Fécamp, and this area remained her preferred motif. She also painted Paris, and in 1872[8], she painted a panorama of the city called *View of Paris from the Trocadéro*.Famous paintings by berthe morisot?
Some of Berthe Morisot's paintings include *Woman and Child on a Balcony*, *On the Terrace*, *Eugène Manet and his Daughter at Bougival*, and *Eugène Manet and his Daughter in the Garden*.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Berthe Morisot.
- [1] museum Brooklyn Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Buffalo AKG Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum Clark Art Institute Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum National Galleries Scotland Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum National Museum of Fine Arts, Argentina Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] wikidata Wikidata: Q105320 Used for: identifiers.
- [8] wikipedia Wikipedia: Berthe Morisot Used for: biography, birth dates, death dates, identifiers, movement attribution, nationality.
- [9] book Brodskaïa, Nathalia; , Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Used for: biography.
- [10] book Brodskaïa, Nathalia, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism (Essential) Used for: biography.
- [11] book Masterpieces of western art : a history of art in 900 individual studies from the Gothic to the present day Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-07-15. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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