Portrait of Berthe Moriset with violets
Manet
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"Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets," was painted by Édouard Manet in 1872. The painting depicts Morisot in a black mourning dress with a barely visible bouquet of violets (meaning Friendship). It is considered an important work as he moved from realism to impressionism and is currently owned by the Musee d’Orsay.
Oil on canvas board Size 14” x 11”
This was my first attempt at an oil mastercopy and probably completed with insufficient consideration of the technique used. The background is a pale yellow, but with several areas of darker and lighter tones. However, the figure stands out from the background on all sides with the black clothes providing dramatic contrast. My copy was slightly narrower and shorter and I “shortened” the hat to fit it in! (Sorry!)
Manet appeared to have made large blocks of colour with subtle changes to indicate the form and I attempted to do this particularly on the lighter left side of the face.
I was pleased to capture her likeness to some extent.
Notes to me......
• Do not amend the picture to fit the canvas – unforgivable!
• Take more time to get the composition right