In this episode of The Gaze Reclaimed Part 5: Berthe Morisot, we celebrate the 100th episode of Art Talk. Berthe Morisot (1841–1895) was not just a painter — she was one of the most influential female Impressionists in art history. Known as the Mother of Impressionism, she transformed the way women and modern life were depicted on canvas, bringing radical lightness, liberation, and emotion to a movement still dominated by men.



Berthe Morisot Biography: Early Life and Training



Born in Bourges, France, Morisot grew up in a Parisian family that encouraged her artistic ambitions — an unusual gift for a woman of her time. She trained privately, since women were barred from the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts until the 1870s. Her teachers recognised her exceptional skill, and she moved from one to the next, each advancing her mastery of traditional techniques.



In her journal, she once wrote:




“I do not think any man would ever treat a woman as his equal, and it is all I ask because I know my worth.”




Berthe Morisot in the Impressionist Circle



Morisot exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1865, moving in the same circles as Manet, Degas, Monet, and Renoir. Claude Monet famously remarked after meeting Berthe and her sister Edma, “What a shame they are not men.” It was a stark reminder of the gender barriers she faced.



Despite societal limitations — she could not roam the streets of Paris unaccompanied or linger in cafés observing life — she carved her own path. Her Berthe Morisot paintings often depict women and children in luminous gardens, interiors, and domestic spaces.



Artistic Style and Legacy



Morisot’s work dissolved the boundaries between figure and background, with loose, gestural brushwork that captured fleeting moments. Critics sometimes called her “the angel of the incomplete” for her open, fragmentary compositions — though this was not always meant as praise. Today, this quality is recognised as part of her radical approach.



Berthe Morisot Self-Portrait and Key Works



Two self-portraits from 1885 stand out.




Self-Portrait with Her Daughter Julie feels like a drawing brought to life on canvas — light, precise, and unforced, representing both her personal and artistic values.



Self-Portrait shows her in a traditional pose but alive with quick, confident brushstrokes, asserting herself as an equal in the male-dominated world of Impressionist painters.




Irish writer George Moore once said of her:




“Her pictures are the only pictures painted by a woman that could not be destroyed without creating a blank in the history of art.”




Berthe Morisot Art Exhibitions



Throughout her career and posthumously, Morisot’s work has been shown internationally:




1930: London, The Leicester Galleries



1936: New York, Wildenstein Galleries



1941: Paris, Musée de l’Orangerie



1947: Paris, Galerie Weil



2002: Lille, Palais des Beaux-Arts



2023: Berthe Morisot: Shaping Impressionism, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London — though notably, 13 of the 43 works displayed were by men.




Why Berthe Morisot Still Matters



Morisot’s art captures the restrictions and quiet rebellions of women’s lives in 19th-century France. She worked within imposed boundaries but turned them into spaces of innovation.