Berthe Morisot was born in Bourges, France. She and her sister Edma began painting as young girls. In the late 1850s the sisters traveled to Paris to study and copy works by the Old Masters at the Louvre under Joseph Guichard. They also studied with landscape painter Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot. Berthe Morisot worked with Corot for several years and first exhibited her work at the Salon, in 1864. In 1868, fellow artist Henri Fantin-Latour introduced Berthe Morisot to Edouard Manet. The two formed a lasting friendship and greatly influenced one another's work. Berthe soon eschewed the paintings of her past with Corot, migrating instead toward Manet's more unconventional and modern approach. She also befriended the Impressionists Edgar Degas and Frédéric Bazille. In 1874 she participated in the first independent show of the Impressionists. She married Manet's younger brother, Eugne, also a painter. Morisot participated in the Impressionist exhibitions every year except 1877. She portrayed a wide range of subjects—from landscapes and still-lifes to domestic scenes and portraits. She also experimented with numerous media, including oils, watercolors, pastels, and drawings.
