"At the Ball" by Berthe Morisot

Media: oil on canvas

Dimensions: 20.5”x25.6”

Date: 1875

 Berthe Morisot was a female leader of the Impressionist movement in the late 19^th century. She displayed her work in the Salon de Paris and the exhibitions of the Impressionists. Her painting focused on domestic life and portraits. Morisot later married Eugène Manet and became the sister-in-law of the famous artist Édouard Manet.

 Morrisot’s teacher Camille Carot wrote of her and her sister, “With characters like your daughters, my teaching will make them painters, not minor amateur talents. Do you really understand what that means? In the world of the grande bourgeoisie in which you move, it would be a revolution. I would even say a catastrophe."

 Because Morrisot was a woman, she was restricted in the subjects she was allowed to paint. Ballroom scenes were one of the genres open to Morrisot. This painting is now held at Musée Marmottan in Paris, France.

 The subject of Morisot’s painting is not paying attention to her surroundings. She is slowly moving her fan, but mostly just daydreaming. Her dreams show in her eyes. This painting has both the dreamlike and impressionistic thread that ties all the art pieces in this exhibition together.