Nineteenth-century propriety meant that as a female artist, Berthe Morisot had little freedom to experience and paint the public spectacle of modern Parisian city life. So instead, she focussed on her home, transforming the experience of women within the domestic sphere, into one of modernity.
In the nineteenth-century, it was unusual for a woman to have a successful artistic career, but Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was fortunate in having the support of her wealthy bourgeoise family, who had encouraged her from a young age. Through the Morisot social circle, she became friends with Edouard Manet (and his brother Eugène, whom she married) and got to know his followers, the group of artists who became known as the Impressionists. This gave her the opportunity to engage with artistic debates of the day, such as how artists might respond to modern life. In the mid nineteenth century, Paris had undergone a physical transformation with new boulevards, public buildings, cafés and bars, that drew crowds and created a visual spectacle of interest to artists. Whilst her fellow male artists could engage directly and easily with urban life, Morisot, ‘[h]eavily chaperoned, corseted and formally dressed, […] could not become the unobtrusive observer/participator of the pageant of modern life…’[1]Adler & Garb, 1987, p.80 This led to her finding a different way of representing the new modern era.
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