Berthe Morisot in Nice. Impressionist stopovers

"Nothing keeps me here. Society here is atrocious, my hotel is full of women without husbands who do not redeem the strangeness of their situation by their elegance [1]". And what about all those wealthy winter visitors who had come to seek the mild climate of the Riviera: their solicitations prevented her from working, as she was averse to social occasions. Despite everything, Berthe Morisot loved Nice. So much so that she came back. She even considered buying a villa on the Cimiez crest. It is these two stays, during the winters of 1881-1882 and 1888-1889, that the Musée des Beaux-arts in Nice, Jules-Chéret, is exploring [2].
Another exhibition on Berthe Morisot? A woman and an Impressionist, she has been at the forefront of the art scene for several years now. A retrospective was devoted to her at Marmottan in 2012, another at the Musée d’Orsay in 2019, and this year, once again, Marmottan presented a selection of her works, this time focusing on her taste for the 18th century. She has also appeared in several exhibitions organised by museums now keen to promote female artists (with results that are sometimes questionable).

1. Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)
Nice Beach, 1882
Oil on canvas - 46.5 x 56 cm
Private collection
Photo: bbsg

See the image in its page

Nevertheless, the two curators of the Musée Jules-Chéret, Johanne Lindskog and Marianne Mathieu, have found new things to say and new works to see - many from private collections - that bear witness to the importance of Nice in the painter’s art. The meticulous study of his notebooks and drawings has revealed little-known projects by the artist, while the analysis of his correspondence is rich in lessons. A previously unpublished sketchbook from Nice is published in extenso in the catalogue, and the letters relating to the Nice region are transcribed in full.

The aim is to evoke the artistic, social and family context in which Morisot created, and to explain what she wanted to capture on…