The Mozart Sonata
Berthe Morisot·1894
Historical Context
The Mozart Sonata, painted in 1894, is among Morisot's final works — she died in March 1895. The subject of music-making had interested her throughout her career, and this late canvas of a figure at the piano returns to a domestic theme she shared with Renoir and other Impressionists. The specific reference to Mozart in the title is unusual in her work and may reflect the musical evenings she regularly hosted after Eugène Manet's death. Smith College Museum of Art, which holds this canvas, has one of the strongest teaching collections of late Impressionism in North America.
Technical Analysis
Morisot's late touch is exceptionally free here — forms barely described, conveyed through patches and directional strokes that create visual impression rather than literal description. The keyboard and the figure's hands are suggested rather than drawn.
