Portrait of Berthe Morrisot

Original etching, 1872.3rd State, on wove paper, with indistinct cancellation marks

Size: 225 X 270 mms (Paper size); 119 X 79 mms (Plate size)
Published by: There were a number of editions of this work published: 1890 : Gennevilliers; 1894 : Dumont; 1905 : Strollin (All for the second state). The third state (our example) was published by Duret in 1910 or, possibly, by Fitch in 1912.

Note: This was one of the three etched portraits of Morisot etched by Manet during the subjects lifetime. This particular image comes from the oil portrait made by Manet in 1872 but is smaller in scale with the image, compared to the oil, reversed. Morisot was born in 1841 into a family of wealth and culture. Her father was a high-ranking civil servant. In July 1868 Fantin-Latour introduced Berthe to Manet, whom she greatly admired. She was also a very good friend of Renoir - who also painted her portrait and made etchings depicting her as an older woman. Although Edouard Manet was had a strong influence on her work, she soon developed a distinctive style of her own. Her style, in turn, influenced his painting and encouraged him to work en plain air. She was also a subject for a number of his paintings, including The Balcony. Morisot exhibited regularly at the Salon, and at all the Impressionist exhibitions except for 1879. Morisot married Manet's brother Eugene in December, 1874. Her house at 4 rue de la Princess in Bougival on the Seine then became a social and inspirational centre for the Impressionists. By 1885 she had begun to hold regular soirees for friends that were artists or writers, including Mallarme. In March of 1895, Berthe Morisot died of pneumonia at the age of 54. In her last letter to her daughter, Julie Manet, she bequeathed paintings to Degas, Monet, and Renoir.
Reference: Guerin 59; Harris 75, Public Collections: nypl (State 1 - Lifetime impression)