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Privilege, Prejudice and the Female Artist Who Fought For Recognition
The subtle brilliance of Impressionism’s leading woman painter
Some paintings do their work subtly but no less impressively for it. The Cradle is one such artwork, and rewards time spent looking at it.
Painted by the French artist Berthe Morisot in 1872, it takes us directly into the serene moments of a baby’s sleeping hour.
This image represents a pivotal moment in Morisot’s artistic journey, as she transitioned from early stylistic uncertainty to a bold, confident originality that would define her career.
As a milestone in the development of one of Impressionism’s most brilliant — yet still underappreciated — painters, The Cradle holds a significant place in Morisot’s quest for artistic recognition and in art history at large.
Layers of meaning
The woman in the painting is the artist’s sister, Edma, who is absorbed in thought as she watches over the sleeping form of her daughter, Blanche.
Edma’s expression is verging on inscrutable; her heavy-lidded gaze imbues the scene with a faint suggestion of unease. This subtle tension is further conveyed by the fingertips of her right hand, which pinch the edge of the fragile voile.
Few artists had such an eye as Morisot did for the articulation of the often inexpressible.
Layers of translucent white gauze veil the sleeping baby, whose right elbow is tucked up in its dreaming state, so mirroring her mother’s posture. This parallel is accentuated by the strong diagonal line of the canopy’s hem, which clearly divides the painting into two halves and lends the work its compositional boldness. We are at once outside and in, looking upon and experiencing in the same moment.
A painting as insightful as The Cradle was only possible because of the closeness Morisot shared with her sister. The two women grew up as constant companions, nurtured in a household that encouraged creativity. Their parents were ardent supporters of…
