Young Girl with Doll 1883

Berthe Morisot painted this “Young Girl with Doll” using oil on canvas. The loose brushwork so typical of Impressionism is plain to see. Morisot would have grounded her pigments in oil, then brushed them wet-on-wet. Note that the brushstrokes are not blended; each one is allowed to stand for itself. This is most apparent in the girl’s white dress, where dabs of blues, greens, and yellows create luminosity. The same technique appears throughout the work. The surrounding foliage and flowers also appear to be little more than fleeting gestures. While the materiality of oil paint was not new, the way Morisot deployed it certainly was. The effect is one of spontaneity, of an artist painting directly from life, en plein air. While seemingly effortless, this effect takes a great deal of skill. Paying attention to these material and contextual factors helps us appreciate Morisot's radical approach, blurring the boundaries between observation and feeling.