Violets

By all accounts, Berthe Morisot who was also a painter (you can see her works in DailyArt) fascinated the married Édouard Manet. Between 1868, when they first met, and 1874, when she married his brother, he painted her portrait eleven times. His painting Violets, which Manet gave to Morisot in 1872, is another intriguing dimension to their relationship. The violets and fan are objects found in two earlier portraits: The Balcony, where she carries a red fan, and Berthe Morisot with a bouquet of violets, where the violets are pinned to her dress. The third object, a partially folded letter, reveals handwriting which reads: à Mlle Berthe and bears the signature, E. Manet. Some researchers suggest that the combination of these particular Victorian symbols–violets, fan and letter–creates a cloaked love message. Manet once said - "It is not enough to know your craft – you have to have feeling”.