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Portrait of Berthe Morisot

Sitter Berthe Morisot French
ca. 1876
Not on view
Desboutin and Berthe Morisot both participated in the second Impressionist exhibition in the spring of 1876, though they almost certainly met earlier through their mutual friends Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas. In this print, Desboutin demonstrates the range of tones achievable in his preferred medium of drypoint—a technique in which the artist scratches the copperplate directly with a sharp needle. He juxtaposed the highly worked, rich blacks of Morisot’s dress, hair, and eyes with the faint outline of her armchair and the fashionable Japanese fan in her hands.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of Berthe Morisot
  • Artist: Marcellin Desboutin (French, Cérilly 1823–1902 Nice)
  • Sitter: Berthe Morisot (French, Bourges 1841–1895 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1876
  • Medium: Drypoint; second state of two
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 18 7/8 × 13 1/4 in. (48 × 33.7 cm)
    Plate: 10 7/16 in. × 7 in. (26.5 × 17.8 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1922
  • Object Number: 22.63.176
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Satirical Drawing of the Sâr Joséphin Peladan, Marcellin Desboutin French, Pen and brown ink, watercolor
Satirical Drawing of the Sâr Joséphin Peladan
Marcellin Desboutin
1891
Portrait of Charles Hayem, Marcellin Desboutin French, Drypoint; first state of three
Portrait of Charles Hayem
Multiple artists/makers
1876
Portrait of Gustave Courbet, Marcellin Desboutin French, Drypoint
Portrait of Gustave Courbet
Marcellin Desboutin
Gustave Courbet
1878
Le Repos de bébé, Marcellin Desboutin French, Drypoint; second state of three
Le Repos de bébé
Marcellin Desboutin
1881
Portrait of an unknown man, Marcellin Desboutin French, Drypoint
Portrait of an unknown man
Marcellin Desboutin
late 19th century

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