Berthe Morisot with a Fan

Over a seven-year period (1868-74), Édouard Manet painted eleven portraits of Berthe Morisot, making her his most frequent model. Manet’s own wife is in only five paintings and Victorine Meurent, eight. Manet produced his final images of Morisot during the time she became involved with and married to his younger brother (1872-74).

These final portraits provide a window into the intense desire and rivalry that Manet had felt towards Morisot. As their relationship became more difficult, Manet departed from his usual painterly technique and distorted Morisot’s image increasingly. This culminates in the skull-like portrait, Berthe Morisot in Mourning Hat (1874). After Morisot's marriage, Manet never painted her again. At his death, seven of her eleven portraits remained in his private collection.