The cradle

Berthe Morisot (French, 1841-1895)
Le Berceau (The cradle), 1872
oil on canvas
image: Musee d'Orsay http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/index-of-works/notice.html?no_cache=1&nnumid=001132&cHash=366b77b867

A beautiful picture by Berthe Morisot. Focused on the daily life of the Modern woman, Morisot captured beautiful moments. Morisot's sister modeled for this painting and she is looking down upon her own baby. The simple beauty of the cradle curatin and focused attention of the mother. Admittedly, Morisot falls into a number of artists I neglected for a long time. It took me awhile to develop not only an appreciation for Impressionism but an aesthetic interest in these more quiet paintings.

Along with Mary Cassatt, Morisot is considered one of the most important women painters of the late 19th century. Very good friends with Edouard Manet, Morisot was not just a woman painter but exhibited alongside other Impressionists of her time (she was the first woman to join the circle of French Impressionists). Despite her connections with this group, she was not as well known during her lifetime.