Hanging the Laundry Out to Dry, 1895, by Berthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot was a French artist who began her painting career in the classical style. Her work was displayed in the prestigious Salon de Paris many times. And then she met the Impressionist. She was fascinated by this group that painted en plein air outside a studio. The invention of oil paints in tubes made this possible. The Impressionists were unleased from the pots of paint that kept them painting inside from sketches of things outdoors.

They marched out into the light with a morning canvas under one arm and an afternoon canvas under the other. They walked out to capture the effect of light and Morisot joined them. She brought her technical skill to this venture but soon learned the quick brushwork that would allow her to create abstracted images from her daily, domestic life before the light changed. She created the illusion of the familiar with remarkable speed and few brushstrokes. Look closely at the people in this work. So little implies them.

Again the critics were not impressed. This is a familiar theme in the art world and often in life. She became one of the rejected Impressionists and was not asked to display at the Salon de Paris again. A critic once wrote of this group “five or six lunatics of which one is a woman”. Among the “lunatics” were Manet, Monet, and Degas. 

Berthe Morisot died at age 54 of pneumonia. She contracted this disease while caring for her daughter and only child, Julie. Julie survived this illness. She died caring for the life that surrounded her and filled her canvases. May we see her work in the scenes of our days.  

In hope and faith,

Sandy Prouty