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Sewing near the Window — Berthe Morisot

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Written by: Ayşe ŞahinResearcher · Old Master Paintings
Old Master Drawings · Catalogue no. 15628
Berthe Morisot

Sewing near the Window

StatusReference work · Not for sale
Held byCleveland Museum of Art
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This watercolor depicts Euphrasie, or Pasie, the nanny for Berthe Morisot’s young daughter Julie. Pasie appears in the artist’s apartment, sewing before a window during a contemplative moment. As with many of Morisot’s works in the medium, she used this example to develop the composition of a future painting into which she added Julie and more tightly cropped the scene. Watercolor was a constant interest for Morisot, and she practiced it from around 1870 throughout the rest of her career, creating both finished and preparatory works.

Artist / MakerBerthe Morisot
Dateabout 1885
Culture / OriginFrance
Mediumwatercolor and graphite on paper
DimensionsSheet: 28.6 x 22.9 cm (11 1/4 x 9 in.)
DepartmentDrawings
TypeDrawing
About the Artist

Born into a prosperous family, Berthe Morisot was encouraged at an early age to become an amateur artist. Along with her sister Edma, she began her studies with Geoffroy-Alphonse Chocarne (act. 1838-1857), a painter trained in the neoclassical tradition. In 1858 the sisters entered the studio of Joseph-Benoît Guichard (1806-1880), a student of Ingres (q.v.) and Delacroix (q.v.). Through Guichard they met Corot (q.v.) in 1861, under whose encouragement they began to paint out of doors near Pontoise as well… Full biography →

Provenance & Source

Image & data: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 / Public Domain.

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