Berthe Morisot was born in January of 1841, in France. Morisot was an important figure in impressionism, working along side other famous artists such as Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. While many upper-middle class women worked on art as a hobby, Morisot and her sister strived to be professional artists. Although, after her sister got married, she dropped the idea, and left Morisot to continue on.

In 1874, she joined the Société Anonyme des Artistes-Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs and became the only female artist to present her work in the exhibition. Some of the artwork she presented became some of her most popular. Critics of the style called the group "impressionists", as they viewed the art to be "unpolished" and "unfinished". Morisot was someone who stood up to these critics in order to gain the recognition impressionist artists deserved.

Morisot's art was not a direct reflection of her surroundings or subject. She focused more on capturing the moment, rather than spending lots of time perfecting every detail. In the 1880s, Morisot's art became much more loose and free. Using impressionist landscape techniques, she depicted her subjects and figures with loose strokes.

One figure she used often was of her daughter, Julie. Julie provided inspiration to Morisot, and also acted as her model. The painting below showcases a portrait of Julie, called "Julie Manet with a straw hat".

*Société Anonyme des Artistes-Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs translates to "The Cooperative Limited Company of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers". This event would be known as the first impressionist exhibition.

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This is my attempt at impressionism. It was my first major painting I've done in a while. I had a hard time painting the face like Morisot did, however I think I did well overall. I enjoyed creating the background, as there wasn't a certain object I had to paint. I painted this using many loose brush strokes.

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Personally, I think Morisot was a great artist. Through learning about her, I think she has become an art role model for me. She stuck by her passion of painting with an impressionist style even though many of her friends and family members protested against it.

Her art style is beautiful and it was very fun learning about it. I would love to practice and do more paintings in an impressionist style. Not having to perfect every detail and letting the paint strokes be the details interests me a lot.

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