By Caprice Hogg
The thrill of this book is that it transports the reader to the middle of 19th century Paris to spend time with Impressionist painters like Monet, Degas, Manet, Cezanne, and more, specifically Berthe Morisot, the first known female Impressionist painter at the time. This historical novel depicts their lives before these painters become “Impressionists” and gives us an in-depth look at a thriving Paris and its society during this time. The novel centers on the life of Berthe and the challenges she faced for being a female painter in a society that frowned greatly on women who focused on their career rather than marriage and having children.
The writing portrayed the love story between Berthe and famous painter Edouard Manet. Manet was married to another woman and his career was a flamboyant one. Manet loved and adored Berthe but also respected her artistic talent in her own right and persuaded the art community to accept her work as equal to the men’s paintings.
It was the description of their affair that also gives the reader a glimpse of Montmartre during its height of popularity. The author’s vivid descriptions transport the reader into a time we will never know.
Berthe and her sister Edma had a deep and complicated relationship. Edma was also a painter who put her paintbrush aside to start a family as was expected of all young women of that era. Neither sister could understand the choices of the other.
While I found this book fascinating and it kept my interest, at one point, the story lost my attention when it went into a detailed account of the war in France during this time. The war had a large impact on the whole country and certainly affected the painters, as well as all other French citizens, but I was much more interested in learning about the art rather than the politics. While this was an important part of history, I was happy when the story returned to more art-related topics.
It was fascinating to read about being a woman painter in Paris alongside famous male painters. I have seen many Impressionist paintings and yet I do not recall ever seeing a Morisot painting. Even today, women painters are not as well-known as the men.
For me, one quote that sums up the life of Berthe Morisot is when she was visiting with her friend Marcello. Marcello said to Berthe “The one salve I’ve found for the pain of living is the making of art. But then you, my friend, already know that.” She leaned in, conspiratorial. “We artists. We are the lucky ones.” This says to me that no matter what, when you are an artist, you cannot help but create, despite what rules and regulations society dictates.
For art history lovers, this book is well worth the read!
Thank you, Freehand Books, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.