Paris, 1863–1906

Berthe Morisot

The Cradle

1872

Oil on canvas, 22 × 18 1/4 in. Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Berthe Morisot (French, 1841–1895). Look at the veil over the cradle: it is painted in thin, see-through strokes.

Look at

• Most of the canvas is white and pale pink, laid on in loose, open strokes.
• The veil's edge runs on a diagonal from the woman's hand up to the top right.
• Her dark blue dress and the dark wall at the top right frame the pale cradle.
• Soft edges, more than outlines, separate the cradle from the curtains behind.

• The sitter is Morisot's sister Edma, watching her baby daughter.

Image: Google Art Project · Public domain