"Frivolous" Art that was so much more
Madame Bergeret, 1776
François Boucher (1703-1770)
143.5 x 105.4 cm, oil on canvas
National Gallery of Art
Femmes au Jardin, 1866
Claude Monet (1840-1926)
255 x 205 cm, oil on canvas
Musée d'Orsay
The XVIII century era's French Rococo will not be our first association if we think of the inspiration sources for Impressionism. Nonetheless, the exhibition: "Berthe Morisot et le XVIII siècle at Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris (in March 2024 moved to Dulwich Picture Gallery, London) established clear connections between many works of the most loved Impressionists to the art of painters loved in the XVIII century. I have used the 200-page lavish and detailed catalogue from this exhibition as one of the sources for research on this subject.
Portrait de Mme de Pompadour, 1756
François Boucher (1703-1770)
205 x 161 cm, oil on canvas
Munich - Boucher
Berthe Morisot à l'éventail, 1872
Eduard Manet (1832-1883)
60.4 x 40.2 cm, oil on canvas
Musee d'Orsay Manet
Berthe Morisot is the Impressionist with the strongest connection to the XVIII century painters. Her work was equally impressive as that of her male colleagues and although she earned the respect of her peers and critics at her time, it took decades to bring her name to the same level as other famous male Impressionists where she is today.
Two Cousins, (1716/7)
Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)
30.5 x 46.5 cm, oil on canvas
Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)
40 x 31.7 cm, oil on canvas
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
A little bit about the context of the Rococo era art: European historians mark the Age of Enlightenment starting in 1715 with the death of Louis XIV and ending in 1789 with the French Revolution. In 1715, France changed king for the first time in 72 years, and French leadership steered away from Imperial intentions and focused on internal affairs. Following that shift the overall aesthetics changed, decorating and beautifying were a new rage. Ornamental Rococo, gilded, 'more is more' - style took over in architecture, art, and interior design. Painters' favourite subjects were 'eye-pleasing' festive scenes of the joyous young and pretty, surrounded by out-worldly gardens. Delicate intimate portraits and scenes full of flowers and life-loving sentiments were taking over. Artists were rebelling after years of military and 'masculine' aesthetics. Painters turned from historical, religious, and 'glory to the army' - subject matter to daily, outdoor, garden scenes with people enjoying the sun and socialising. Painters were paying much attention to the relationship of colour and light. The most influential French "rococo" painters of the time were: François Boucher (1703-1770), Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806), Jean-Baptiste Chardin (1699-1779).
We can draw a clear connection to a period of the mid-nineteenth century when France was tired after exhausting wars and when a group of independent artists rebelled from the Salon's desirable subject matters of mythology or history and turned to portray the modern life around them. They exited studios and painted outside, searching for true colours under the sun. They rebelled against Neo-Classicism, Romanticism, and Realism, which took over after the French Revolution and were favoured by the Academy in its annual Salon exhibition.
Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was born in a higher middle-class family and grew up in a home decorated in the XVIII century style. She was familiar with the famous painters from that era, but she and her sisters were dissuaded by their art teachers from copying and being influenced by those 'low art' paintings. She would have been thrilled by the 1860 big exhibition of 300 XVIII century paintings in Parisian Gallery Martinet. From this moment the recognition of 18th-century royal court-style painters was fortified once and for all, and museums even the Louvre couldn't hold their doors closed for it any more.
Berthe Morisot being a woman painter and confined to home as all women at the time, couldn't paint the café or street scenes full of people as her male Impressionist peers, but had to focus instead on portraits and figures in homes and gardens. Fragonard, Boucher, and Watteau inspired her with their translucency of skin, silk, and lace. Morisot travelled extensively, to Britain among other places, and admired British XVIII-century portraitists. Down we can see her 'dialogue' with English painter George Romney, famous in his time.
Winter, 1880
Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)
75 x 62 cm, oil on canvas
Dallas Museum of Art
J.M.W. Turner and other British landscape painters influenced Impressionism from the previous century and outside France, like the art of Monet and Pissarro. Impressionists also revived pastels, which were widely popular in the 18th century but considered too feminine by the end of it.
Sources:
Museum Marmottan Monet Catalogue of the exhibition " Berthe Morisot and XVIII century art"
French Art - Modern Art Terms and Concepts | TheArtStory
List of paintings by Claude Monet - Wikipedia
18th-Century France — The Rococo and Watteau (nga.gov)
Maurice-Quentin de LA TOUR - Essay (pastellists.com)
Age of Enlightenment - Wikipedia
The Rise of Pastel in the Eighteenth Century - The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)
Pastels: Impressionism's Lesser Known Medium | Art & Object (artandobject.com)
Pastels | Musée d'Orsay (musee-orsay.fr)
Six of the World's Most Famous Art Academies | DailyArt Magazine
France's First Public Exhibition| DailyArt Magazine
Chardin's The Cut Melon - a spellbinding work by the 'great magician' | Christie's (christies.com)
