Berthe Morisot with a Fan
by MANET, Edouard, Watercolour, 209 x 168 mm
Manet returned several times to painting Berthe Morisot’s languishing face and languishing attitudes. He clearly sought something more than the merely pictorial in this strange young woman, who was always dressed soberly in Manet’s favourite colours, black and white. Her face inspired Manet, as witness the many rapidly brushed portraits without a trace of pentimenti.