We Had Faces: Morisot, Self-Portraiture, and the Female Face in Nineteenth-Century Ar

The French Impressionist Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) occupied an important place among the leading artistic figures of her time, such as Edouard Manet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and many others. This study addresses the pictorial and identity issues present in Morisot's three self-portraits from 1885, by examining the artist's engagement in a history of artmaking and in picturing subjectivity. Analysis of specific self-portraits from leading French artists and contemporaneous images of Morisot reveal the ways in which she produces figures that attempt to combine painterly and motherly signs into a single identity. Through a discussion of literature on self-portraiture and feminist theory, this project builds upon the earlier scholarship to focus on a careful investigation of Morisot's self-conceptualization in pastel and oil paint. This thesis ends with a study of Morisot's relationship with her daughter, noting the way the artist frames their familial connection and painting legacy.