# Woman at Her Toilette **Berthe Morisot** (French, 1841–1895) 1875–80 Oil on canvas 60.3 × 80.4 cm (23 3/4 × 31 5/8 in.); Framed: 85.8 × 105.5 × 10.5 cm (33 3/4 × 41 1/2 × 4 1/8 in.) Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1924.127. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/11723). ## About this work Rendered with feathery brushstrokes in shades of lavender, pink, blue, white, and gray, this Impressionist painting captures a subject often explored by male artists of the day but seldom broached by the period's few women artists. Morisot presents a decidely female perspective, intimate yet not eroticized. She signed her name along the bottom of the mirror, as if to suggest that the image in her painting is as ephemeral as a silvery reflection. _Text from the Art Institute of Chicago._ Berthe Morisot painted this in 1875–80, aged about 29. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago. ### What you’re looking at Painted portrait dominated by loose, large brushstrokes of a woman, seen from the back, wearing a gauzy white off-the-shoulder dress and black choker, blond hair swept up, examining herself in a mirror at left. The background is a feathered swirl suggesting floral pattern in cool pale tones of gray, purple, pink, and blue. _Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._ ### How it was made - **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled. ### [Berthe Morisot](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/berthe-morisot) French, 1841–1895; born in Bourges; died in Paris Morisot studied with Corot and was a founding member of the Impressionist group, exhibiting in seven of its eight exhibitions. Barred as a woman from much of public life, she painted the world open to her: mothers and children, women at their toilette, gardens and interiors, with brushwork among the freest of the movement. She married Eugène Manet, brother of the painter Édouard, and their daughter Julie appears in many of her later works. _Written by Ochre Editions._ ## Facts - Type: Painting - Culture: France - The artist was about 29 - Real size: about 24 × 31 in (60 × 80 cm). The 20 × 30 in print is close to life size. - Century: 19th century - Movement: [Impressionism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/impressionism) - Subjects: women, interior, fashion, dresses, gray (color), necklace, jewelry, leisure - Colour: grey - Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose. ## Get it - Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/23.jpg?dl=1 - Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/23/1920.jpg - Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108 - Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258 - Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178 - Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5 Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/woman-at-her-toilette-aic-11723).