Shop art print and framed art Woman at her Toilet by Berthe Morisot

 
 
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Subjects : Feminine Beauty, Portrait
Keywords : Painting, beauty, domestic, mirror, vanity, woman
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To fully enjoy «Woman at her Toilet» by Berthe Morisot, we recommend the medium size (60x80.2 cm) printed on hand stretched canvas, with the gilded mouldings - thin frame.
The artwork

Woman at her Toilet

The captivating painting Femme à sa toilette by Berthe Morisot: a study in femininity

The story behind the creation of the painting "Femme à sa toilette"

"Femme à sa toilette" was created by Berthe Morisot between 1875 and 1880. This was a very important period for the artist, as it then consolidated her style and strengthened her links with the Impressionists, who also included Édouard Manet, her mentor and friend. This painting represents a key moment in Morisot's artistic development, testifying to her constant desire to push back the boundaries of her art and invent new expressive techniques.

She chose as her subject a woman getting ready in front of her mirror, a scene typical of everyday bourgeois life at the time. Berthe Morisot here explores the different facets of femininity, highlighting their daily activities, which up until the time were rarely treated by male artists.

A visual description of "Femme à sa toilette"

The painting depicts a woman seated in front of her dressing table.She has her back to the viewer, busily pulling up her blonde hair into a bun. Her face is turned towards the mirror in front of her, on which she seems to be focusing all her attention. The scene takes place in an intimate room of soft pastel tones, with vibrant touches of blue and white.

From a stylistic point of view, "Femme à sa toilette" shows the influence of Impressionism and Manet on Morisot's work.Here she uses broad brushstrokes to create a sense of space and volume, while playing with the contrasts between light and shadow. The shapes are simplified and the contours less sharp, adding to the spontaneity and naturalness of the scene depicted.

One of the key features of this painting is undoubtedly the way the artist manages to capture the ephemeral beauty of this intimate moment.The colours used, as well as the fluidity of the pictorial gesture, create an atmosphere imbued with poetry and delicacy, where each element seems suspended in time.

The role of "Femme à sa toilette" in Berthe Morisot's artistic career

This painting is an important milestone in Morisot's career.Not only does it demonstrate her growing mastery of Impressionist techniques, but it also illustrates the themes that are central to her work, such as everyday life and the female condition.

The influence of the Impressionist movement

By the time she produced "Femme à sa toilette", Berthe Morisot had already joined the Impressionist circle and taken part in several exhibitions with them. This environment allowed her to experiment and constantly evolve artistically, feeding on the techniques and ideas developed by her contemporaries, such as Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Her adherence to the principles of Impressionism is visible in this painting, particularly through the use of bright colours, the brushstroke technique and the work on light and shadows. Moreover, she appropriates these elements to create a style of her own that is unmistakably identifiable.

The representation of the female world

Through "Femme à sa toilette" and other similar works, Berthe Morisot highlights the singularity of her view of the society of her time. She chose subjects relating to women's everyday lives, focusing particularly on their private lives, activities and concerns. Her talent lies in her ability to sublimate these ordinary moments and give them a universal dimension.

Moreover, Morisot proves through her work that she is a pioneer of gender equality in art. She emancipated herself from the stereotypes associated with female painters and asserted her place within a world dominated by men. Thanks to the quality of her works, she shows that talent has no gender and thus paves the way for other female artists.

"Femme à sa toilette" is an eloquent example of Berthe Morisot's talent and the creative maturity she reached as an Impressionist artist. By depicting intimate moments in the daily lives of women, she succeeded in offering a fresh perspective on the world around her and creating works of great poetic and emotional depth.

 

This artwork is a painting from the modern period. It belongs to the impressionism style.

 

« Woman at her Toilet » is kept at The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, Etats-Unis.

 

Find the full description of Woman at her Toilet by Berthe Morisot on Wikipedia.

The artist

Berthe Morisot

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