Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was one of the influential painters of the French Impressionist school of art. Her delicate and subtle style won her the respect and praise of her colleagues, but she was denied international recognition until long after her death.

Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot was born on January 14, 1841, in Bourges, France, into an upper class family. Her parents were married in 1835 when her mother, Marie Cornelie Thomas, was 16. They had two daughters, Marie Elisabeth Yves and Marie Edma Caroline, before Berthe was born. A son, Tiburce, was born between 1845 and 1848. Her father, Edme Tiburce Morisot, was a high-ranking civil servant in the French government. He had studied painting and architecture as a young man. Her grandfather was Jean-Honore Fragonard, an important artist of the Rococo school, who painted aristocratic gardens. Their artistic influences were a major part of Berthe's upbringing. Blessed with a talent for art, she...