Lovely, Sarah! This took plenty of focused attention, but you also must have enjoyed doing the study: such beautiful art. And we're learning that there are, alas, many examples of women artists, musicians, writers, scientists and more who weren't much recognized for their contributions. I know about Mary Cassatt mostly because an aunt of mine always loved her work; glad to know about Morisot now, too.
Thank you, Polly, and yes, you are so right re the many under-recognized women in many fields. I suspect we also know more about Mary Cassatt because she was an American, and probably got more notice, and her works owned by more museums here.
I enjoyed these telling juxtapositions of Morisot’s work and Manet’s. The novel, published by Freehand Press, is One Madder Woman by Dede Crane—beautifully written and deeply researched but not sufficiently compelling to keep me reading. Maybe I’m just quick to lose patience.
Thanks for remembering the novel! So hard to get the balance right in historical fiction (speaking as one whose historical novel didn’t sell…). Will go look it up.
Thanks for this , Sarah. I can’t wait for the post on Julie…. It sounds intriguing to follow this thread to the next generation. I’m behind in my reading so I’ll go make sure I didn’t miss it!
Thanks, Victoria! It will be a while before I get the post on Julie written, so you can catch up on other reading! And I know that feeling of being behind!
I loved reading all of this, Sarah. I did read Paris in Ruins by Sebastian Smee, which is largely about Marisot. I don’t know why I have been aware of her for a long time; possibly via the Barnes collection. Her story is fascinating, and you have offered a wonderful rendition here.
Thank you so much, Alice! I don't know why I haven't read Paris in Ruins yet, but it's on my list. And that makes sense that you would have known Morisot's work through the Barnes. II would have loved to see the Morisot show they put on about five years ago.
Here in the UK we had a lovely Morisot exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in partnership with the Musee Marmottan. It highlighted eighteenth century influences on Morisot e.g. Fragonard. I was very struck by her later work and wondered what she might have achieved if she hadn’t died so relatively young.
Thanks, Jill, I’m so glad to hear that! I really enjoyed thinking about the two of them, and about how Morisot was somewhat forgotten, at least by 20th-C. Americans.
That is fortunate! I learned about her long ago too, in college, but I never had much of a sense of her work, as compared to, say, Monet or Cassatt or Degas.
Berthe Morisot is well loved here in Paris. At the Musée Marmottan in the 16th arrondissement, there is a room dedicated to her paintings. I never go to the museum without making a visit to that room. So if anyone is in Paris and has become interested in Morisot, thanks to Sarah, the museum is on metro 9 at La Muette stop, easy peasy from the center of Paris. The whole little museum is a jewel. The entire lower floor is Monet paintings which they rotate periodically. And there is usually an exhibit that last 4 or 5 months.
I am so glad to hear that she’s well loved in Paris. I didn’t know of Musée Marmottan until I started looking for more info about Morisot. I will definitely visit next time!
Lovely piece, Sarah! Berthe makes an appearance in my novel about Mary Cassatt (another Impressionist who gets forgotten next to her male peers). I look forward to reading more of your work. We share an interest in writing about midlife too.
Thank you, Lisa! That’s right, they were friends! That must have been a joy to spend time with Mary Cassatt! (I wrote a novel about Sargent and his sister Emily, who was also an artist, and though it got me an agent, it never sold. But I loved researching and writing it.)
Oh, that sounds like a wonderful story! I hope you can find a place for it eventually. And yes, what a joy to visit Belle Epoque Paris and les avant-gardes.
Thank you, I hope so too (though I understand now why it didn’t sell…). That must have been wonderful, spending time in that era and with those artists. And hopefully you got to go to Paris for research!
Fascinating post. I love French Impressionism and did not know of Berthe Morisot. Thank you for introducing her to me. I’m glad that her work was celebrated in her time and sorry that she died so young.
Thank you! And I’m happy to have introduced Morisot to you! Yes, too short a life, and I wonder if the fact that she died so early (compared to, say, Mary Cassatt, who lived a long life) affected how she was remembered.
Love these articles - thank you! Robin Oliveira’s “I Always Loved You” has a subplot about Berthe and Manet. She is an excellent historical novelist.
I haven’t read it yet but the new history of the Impressionists “Paris In Ruins” follows Berthe as a way of telling the bigger story of the birth of Impressionism.
I picked up that book after seeing the spectacular exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in DC.
Thank you! And yes, that’s right, Robin Oliveira’s novel—it’s about Cassatt and Degas and their long friendship, right? I did read that one and will have to return to it That exhibit sounds tremendous, and I’m sorry I missed it. Will look for the book/catalog.
Hi Sarah, I wrote this message on Rona’s restack of your article, but meant to drop it here. New subscriber and fellow lover of women in art!
Rona, this is my kind of read. Thank you! In a similar vein, FYI, Katy Hessel’s The Great Women Artists podcast is a phenomenal curation of all things women artists. On Ep. 62, she interviews Cindy Kang of the Barnes Foundation to discuss Berthe Morisot. Good morning!
Lovely, Sarah! This took plenty of focused attention, but you also must have enjoyed doing the study: such beautiful art. And we're learning that there are, alas, many examples of women artists, musicians, writers, scientists and more who weren't much recognized for their contributions. I know about Mary Cassatt mostly because an aunt of mine always loved her work; glad to know about Morisot now, too.
Thank you, Polly, and yes, you are so right re the many under-recognized women in many fields. I suspect we also know more about Mary Cassatt because she was an American, and probably got more notice, and her works owned by more museums here.
I enjoyed these telling juxtapositions of Morisot’s work and Manet’s. The novel, published by Freehand Press, is One Madder Woman by Dede Crane—beautifully written and deeply researched but not sufficiently compelling to keep me reading. Maybe I’m just quick to lose patience.
Thanks for remembering the novel! So hard to get the balance right in historical fiction (speaking as one whose historical novel didn’t sell…). Will go look it up.
Thanks for this , Sarah. I can’t wait for the post on Julie…. It sounds intriguing to follow this thread to the next generation. I’m behind in my reading so I’ll go make sure I didn’t miss it!
Thanks, Victoria! It will be a while before I get the post on Julie written, so you can catch up on other reading! And I know that feeling of being behind!
I loved reading all of this, Sarah. I did read Paris in Ruins by Sebastian Smee, which is largely about Marisot. I don’t know why I have been aware of her for a long time; possibly via the Barnes collection. Her story is fascinating, and you have offered a wonderful rendition here.
Thank you so much, Alice! I don't know why I haven't read Paris in Ruins yet, but it's on my list. And that makes sense that you would have known Morisot's work through the Barnes. II would have loved to see the Morisot show they put on about five years ago.
Here in the UK we had a lovely Morisot exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in partnership with the Musee Marmottan. It highlighted eighteenth century influences on Morisot e.g. Fragonard. I was very struck by her later work and wondered what she might have achieved if she hadn’t died so relatively young.
I wish I could have seen it! I’ve wondered that too about her. Too short a life!
Thanks for the guidance in looking at these works of these two artists in relation to one another. I see them in new ways!
Thanks, Jill, I’m so glad to hear that! I really enjoyed thinking about the two of them, and about how Morisot was somewhat forgotten, at least by 20th-C. Americans.
I guess I am fortunate to have been introduced to Morisot in the late 1970s and have long been fond of her artwork.
That is fortunate! I learned about her long ago too, in college, but I never had much of a sense of her work, as compared to, say, Monet or Cassatt or Degas.
Berthe Morisot is well loved here in Paris. At the Musée Marmottan in the 16th arrondissement, there is a room dedicated to her paintings. I never go to the museum without making a visit to that room. So if anyone is in Paris and has become interested in Morisot, thanks to Sarah, the museum is on metro 9 at La Muette stop, easy peasy from the center of Paris. The whole little museum is a jewel. The entire lower floor is Monet paintings which they rotate periodically. And there is usually an exhibit that last 4 or 5 months.
I am so glad to hear that she’s well loved in Paris. I didn’t know of Musée Marmottan until I started looking for more info about Morisot. I will definitely visit next time!
Lovely piece, Sarah! Berthe makes an appearance in my novel about Mary Cassatt (another Impressionist who gets forgotten next to her male peers). I look forward to reading more of your work. We share an interest in writing about midlife too.
Thank you, Lisa! That’s right, they were friends! That must have been a joy to spend time with Mary Cassatt! (I wrote a novel about Sargent and his sister Emily, who was also an artist, and though it got me an agent, it never sold. But I loved researching and writing it.)
Oh, that sounds like a wonderful story! I hope you can find a place for it eventually. And yes, what a joy to visit Belle Epoque Paris and les avant-gardes.
Thank you, I hope so too (though I understand now why it didn’t sell…). That must have been wonderful, spending time in that era and with those artists. And hopefully you got to go to Paris for research!
Fascinating post. I love French Impressionism and did not know of Berthe Morisot. Thank you for introducing her to me. I’m glad that her work was celebrated in her time and sorry that she died so young.
Thank you! And I’m happy to have introduced Morisot to you! Yes, too short a life, and I wonder if the fact that she died so early (compared to, say, Mary Cassatt, who lived a long life) affected how she was remembered.
How we’re remembered is always a crap shoot, ain’t it? Would we remember Van Gogh if not for the efforts of his brother’s wife? https://open.substack.com/pub/themjkxn/p/loving-vincent?r=1qts0e&utm_medium=ios
Oh, this is so true! It’s all in the narrative…
Love these articles - thank you! Robin Oliveira’s “I Always Loved You” has a subplot about Berthe and Manet. She is an excellent historical novelist.
I haven’t read it yet but the new history of the Impressionists “Paris In Ruins” follows Berthe as a way of telling the bigger story of the birth of Impressionism.
I picked up that book after seeing the spectacular exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in DC.
Thank you! And yes, that’s right, Robin Oliveira’s novel—it’s about Cassatt and Degas and their long friendship, right? I did read that one and will have to return to it That exhibit sounds tremendous, and I’m sorry I missed it. Will look for the book/catalog.
Hi Sarah, I wrote this message on Rona’s restack of your article, but meant to drop it here. New subscriber and fellow lover of women in art!
Rona, this is my kind of read. Thank you! In a similar vein, FYI, Katy Hessel’s The Great Women Artists podcast is a phenomenal curation of all things women artists. On Ep. 62, she interviews Cindy Kang of the Barnes Foundation to discuss Berthe Morisot. Good morning!
Thank you, Maureen! I know of Katy Hessel’s podcast, and her wonderful book, but haven’t listened to the Morisot episode. Will add it to my list!