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The Cradle
Berthe Morisot · Impressionism
- Artist
- Berthe Morisot (1841–1895)
- Date
- 1872
- Dimensions
- 56 x 46 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France
The Cradle shows the painter’s sister Edma watching over her sleeping baby daughter Blanche. It was shown at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, where it was one of the few works to receive a kind word from critics.
A closer look
The mother leans her head on her hand and gazes at the child through a veil of white muslin that she draws across the cradle. The diagonal of her arm and the diagonal of the curtain meet over the baby, enclosing the two figures in a quiet, protective space. Morisot painted the transparent fabrics with light, delicate strokes. There is tenderness but also a touch of melancholy: Edma had given up painting when she married, and her look may hold both love and regret.
