Étude Pour La Cueillette Des Pommes 

Berthe Morisot’s delicate sketch captures a figure, perhaps a young girl, reaching high to gather apples. The apple, a symbol laden with meaning, immediately calls to mind the Garden of Eden, where it represents knowledge, temptation, and the fall from grace. But this is no singular event, is it? Consider the apples of Hesperides in Greek mythology, guarded by a dragon, promising immortality. Or the golden apple of discord that ignited the Trojan War. Morisot subtly intertwines these echoes. The act of reaching, of striving for something just beyond grasp, becomes a poignant symbol. It echoes through art history, resurfacing in countless images of human aspiration. This simple act of reaching becomes a universal gesture, a visual echo resonating through time, carrying with it the weight of human desire and the bittersweet knowledge of what it means to want.