Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of Berthe Morisot with a Fan

Édouard Manet

Date

1874

Medium

Watercolor over traces of graphite on cream wove paper

Culture

France

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Édouard Manet represented his close friend artist Berthe Morisot twelve times between 1868 and 1874 in etching, lithography, oil paint, and watercolor. In this watercolor Manet used a limited palette and a combination of techniques to depict Morisot against a blue-green background. He worked wet-into-wet for her dress, applying wet pigment onto an already wet surface before it had time to dry, which allowed the marks to bleed and blend into one another. Then Manet used a dry-brush technique to emphasize the texture of the fabric of her dress and the ribbon in her hair. Both these textures contrast with the relative flatness of the muted background, making the sitter stand out.

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