Louise Riesener

Painted in 1888 and now in the Musée de l'Évêché de Limoges, this portrait of Louise Riesener — daughter of painter Léon Riesener and a close friend of Morisot — belongs to a series of informal portraits the artist made of women in her circle. Unlike formal commissioned portraiture, Morisot's portraits of friends have the quality of extended observation over time, capturing the sitter's familiar personality rather than a composed official likeness. The Limoges holding reflects the provincial French collecting of Impressionist works.

The sitter is rendered with Morisot's characteristic combination of sensitive observation and painterly freedom. The face receives the most careful attention, with subtle tonal modeling of warm flesh tones and expressive eyes. The clothing and background dissolve into broader, looser passages that prevent any sense of the stiff formality of conventional portraiture.