Characteristically feminine in her choice of subject and delicacy of coloring, Berthe Morisot has painted an interior of the house at Bougival, near Paris, where she spent her summers in the 1880’s. Probably it is her housemaid, busy in the dining room, who stands between the open cupboard and the table. A playful little dog adds a touch of animation to the domestic scene.
During the middle of her career, Berthe Morisot was strongly influenced by Impressionism. In this picture particular details of the furniture, of the girl’s costume, or even of her face, held interest for the painter only in so far as they reflected light in different ways. Much as it does in Monet’s art, light seems to fill the scene and blur the edges of the forms. Yet, as in Manet’s pictures, the colors here have not the daring brilliance of the spectrum hues Monet used. Berthe Morisot has sustained a refined color harmony of delicate warm and cool hues in the blue-grays and creamy highlights. Her composition, too, shows her allegiance to Manet rather than to Monet; the forms are broadly seen in silhouette so that light and shadow do not impinge upon them enough to destroy their character as elements in the design.
Canvas. 24⅛ × 19¾ inches Painted 1886
Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
Four Dancers
Chester Dale Collection
Before a colorful stage set, four ballerinas are awaiting their cue to perform. Dancers were among Degas’ most frequent subjects. Because the forms of their flaring skirts and bodices were simple, he could arrange them easily into handsome patterns and make them colorful by the artificial richness of stage lighting. He sketched the ballet dancers frequently during their exhausting hours of rehearsal and again in their spritely performances at the Paris Opera.
Though Degas shared interests with both Realists and Impressionists, he cannot be classified simply as either. His art synthesized several trends; he merged the academic and the progressive styles. Firmly grounded in the academic manner, he used precise outlines, which were foreign to the Realist or Impressionist. In this picture, his lines describe the ballerinas’ heads, arms and costumes and also establish an intricate design of diagonals moving back into depth. While the extreme off-center balance of the composition gives a realistic “snap-shot” view, it also heightens our awareness of the design so that the eye enjoys the variety of shapes and colors. Though the colors are applied with Impressionistic freedom, they combine into a vibrant harmony typical of Degas’ late style. Very fond of this picture, Degas kept it in his studio until his death.
Canvas. 59½ × 71 inches Painted c. 1899