The Drawing Lesson (Berthe Morisot and her Daughter)
Original title: The Drawing Lesson (Berthe Morisot and her Daughter)
kurzbeschreibung
Berthe Morisot made the drypoint Die Zeichenstunde (Berthe Morisot und ihre Tochter) in 1889. Two women sit on a couch, absorbed in a book together. The print was pulled on wove paper and measures 35.7 x 27.8 cm, the plate 19 x 13.9 cm.
Description
Two women share a couch, both intent on a book. The one on the left, in a plain blouse, has her arm around the shoulders of the other, whose dress is patterned with flowers. Both look down at the pages with full attention. A curtain behind them softens the light. Gradations of grey and the scratched lines of the drypoint carry the whole pictorial structure.
Context
Morisot made this etching in 1889, a period when she turned increasingly to intimate family scenes. Her daughter Julie Manet posed for the figure on the right and appears often in her work. Around this time printmaking gained importance among the Impressionists. The sheet belongs to an oeuvre that confirms Morisot's standing as a central artist of Impressionism.
Impact
The familiar posture of the two figures creates a quiet, thoughtful mood and lets the viewer share a private moment. The delicate linework and soft shading feel as light as a sketch and yet precise. The print conveys a calm closeness characteristic of Morisot's family pictures.
Technique
This work is a drypoint, an intaglio method in which the lines are scratched directly into the copper plate. The result is fine strokes with velvety shadows, which here model the figures and the background. It was printed on wove paper, which brings the delicate lines out clearly.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)