The Artist's Sister Edma Seated in a Park

Dated to 1864, this early work shows Morisot's sister Edma seated in a park — one of Berthe's earliest surviving paintings, made when she was studying with Corot and beginning to exhibit at the Salon. Edma was Berthe's constant early companion in painting, and the two sisters worked together in the Bois de Boulogne and around Pontoise before Edma married in 1869 and gave up her artistic career. This early work shows Morisot working in the Corot-influenced manner of plein-air figure in landscape, already demonstrating the luminous atmospheric sensitivity that would develop into her mature Impressionist style.

The early style is more deliberate and tonal than Morisot's mature work — the influence of Corot visible in the silvery atmospheric light and careful spatial organization. The figure of Edma is placed in a park setting with trees providing a backdrop. The handling is fresh and observant despite the relative caution of the early manner.