The Artist's Sister at a Window

The painting’s story and details

At the window sits Edma, Berthe Morisot’s elder sister. They studied painting together and exhibited at the Salon from 1864. In 1869, the year of this portrait, Edma married. Her professional career ended after the wedding, though she continued making art privately. Berthe went on to become a leading Impressionist. The sitter is someone who had once worked beside her at an easel.

Edma lowers her gaze towards a fan. A black ribbon holds her hair, another encircles her neck, setting off the pale profile. She addresses neither painter nor viewer. Berthe closely observes her sister occupied with a small movement of her hands.

The fan is only partly open. Red, blue and green patches appear on its pale surface. Her fingers hold the thin sticks, bringing both hands around this small object. Its varied colours enliven the nearly white centre of the painting.

The white dress occupies almost the entire lower half of the canvas. Blue, pinkish and grey tones enter its folds, while the flounce at the floor becomes a scatter of short strokes. The fabric stays light despite its volume. Morisot distinguishes dress, curtain and chair upholstery within a narrow range of pale colours.

Through the balcony door we see the building opposite. Its windows are open too, with small figures beneath green awnings. Domestic privacy sits directly across the street from other people’s lives. Dark railings mark the near boundary, while repeated windows give depth to the narrow space between buildings.

The chair supports the figure along almost its entire outline. Its floral upholstery is painted freely, without describing every petal. Beside it run the firm lines of wooden furniture and the wall pattern. Comfort is made from the concrete possessions of a prosperous home. That environment enabled the sisters’ education, while its expectations constrained women’s professional choices.

Morisot exhibited the painting at the Salon of 1870. It later belonged to Edma herself and her daughter. The family image also had a public life: visitors to a major exhibition saw a modern woman in an ordinary room. A domestic subject enabled Berthe to pursue professional work within the sphere of life society chiefly associated with women themselves.