Berthe Morisot, Summer's Day

ca 1879

Berthe Morisot, Summer's Day

ca 1879

Paintings sorted by Historical period | Painter | Subject matter | Pigments used

Location of the Scene in Berthe Morisot, Summer's Day

Berthe Morisot lived in Passy not far from the Bois de Boulogne where she painted several of her paintings. The scenery of ‘Summer’s Day’ is located at the northern end of the Lac Inférieur in the Bois de Boulogne (1).

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References

(1) Bomford D, Kirby J, Leighton, J., Roy A. Art in the Making: Impressionism. National Gallery Publications, London, 1990, pp. 176-178.

Overview

Medium: Oil
Support: Canvas
Size: 75.2 x 45.7 cm

Art period: Impressionism
National Gallery London
NG3264

The book ‘Art in the Making: Impressionism‘ (1) describes the painting technique of Morisot as follows:

“The most striking feature of the principal painting stage is Morisot’s unique and unmistakable brushwork, much commented upon by her contemporaries. Its repeated zig-zags give a shimmering, restless quality to the image as if the entire scene were refracted through countless prisms. The effect of this is to unify everything into one continuous sweep of texture and colour: figures, background and water merge into a luminous blond tonality which ripples across the whole surface of the picture. Individual forms are almost submerged in the decorative patterning of the paint.”

The essay by Rachel Spence describes the choice of subject matter in this painting and the difficulties and limitations Morisot had to face due to her situation as the only woman among the Impressionists (2).

“Berthe Morisot is often portrayed as a pioneer. The only woman to exhibit in the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris in 1874, such was her standing that Degas declared: “We think Berthe Morisot’s name and talent are too important for us do without.”

Yet Morisot was no Amazon. The first retrospective in Paris since 1941, this show leaves no doubt that she suffered for her art, and that her art suffered as a result. The oeuvre itself, top-heavy with images of women and children – in living-rooms, blossom-bursting gardens and sunlit, shady parks – testifies to an artist devoted to the domestic, intimate and private.

…”

References

(1) Bomford D, Kirby J, Leighton, J., Roy A. Art in the Making: Impressionism. National Gallery Publications, London, 1990, pp. 176-181.

(2) Spence, R., Berthe Morisot, Musée Marmottan-Monet, Paris, Financial Times, May 1, 2012

Pigments

Pigment Analysis

This pigment analysis is based on the work of the scientists in the National Gallery in London (1).

The choice of pigments in this painting is rather unusual for an impressionistic painting. Cerulean blue (cobalt stannate) was not broadly used in this time period and cadmium yellow had not yet been recognized as a yellow pigment of choice. Morisot also employed earth pigments which were not en vogue with the Impressionists due to their rather dull appearance.

1 Dark blue coat of the woman on the left: underpainting in cerulean blue (cobalt stannate) and white and black pigments and a small amount of artificial ultramarine. The top layer consists of cobalt blue and artificial ultramarine. There are also patches on the surface containing cerulean blue and pure artificial ultramarine.

2 Green foliage, green river water, and the greenish riverbank: a mixture of emerald green and viridian combined with lead white and cadmium yellow. Some of the spots contain also chrome yellow.