La Broderie 1889

Berthe Morisot made this sketch of a woman sewing with watercolor on paper. Morisot was a key member of the Impressionist group in France. But as a woman, her access to institutional power was limited and her work was often viewed through the lens of her gender. Morisot pushed back against these constraints by taking the domestic sphere of bourgeois women as the subject of her painting. The act of "broderie" or embroidery was a typical pastime for middle-class women, seen as a sign of refinement and domesticity. In depicting it, Morisot was engaging with a cultural expectation of women in 19th-century France. But she also subtly challenged it. Her loose brushwork and unfinished quality were modern techniques that pushed against academic norms, and her emphasis on the quiet interior life of women can be seen as a subtle form of resistance against their social confinement. To fully understand this artwork, we need to consider the social and cultural context in which it was made, the role of women in 19th-century France, and the institutional forces that shaped the art world.