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third french republicconcept:era modern

The Cradle

Oil on canvas (1872) by Berthe Morisot, depicting her sister Edma gazing at a sleeping infant in a gauze-curtained cradle. Exhibited at the first Impressionist exhibition (1874). The defining image of Morisot's intimate domestic subject matter and airy brushwork.

Scholarly Significance

Berthe Morisot's most celebrated work. Shown at the first Impressionist exhibition (1874), The Cradle anchors the domestic-intimate dimension of Impressionism and the founding exhibition event.

Notes

  • ·Berthe Morisot painted The Cradle in 1872; the subject is her sister Edma Pontillon (née Morisot), who had recently given up her own painting career after marriage, and Edma's infant daughter Blanche.
  • ·Exhibited at the inaugural Impressionist exhibition in April 1874 — the first public showing of the new movement.
  • ·Morisot used the diaphanous gauze of the cradle curtain to explore transparency and light in a way that became emblematic of Impressionist brushwork.
  • ·The painting was not sold during Morisot's lifetime; it remained in her family's possession.
  • ·Purchased by the Louvre in 1930; transferred to Musée d'Orsay in 1986.