The Cradle

This is an interesting piece to interpret emotionally. Although the mother holds the crib and looks at her child, her emotion is not clear to read. Female artists who were financially and creatively successful were not common during Morisot’s life, and although she was herself a mother it could be assumed that she had a complex relationship with motherhood as a more traditional occupation for women, and that she has projected this on her sitter. The piece features large contrasts in dark and light; the bright white of the bassinet and cover, and upper left-hand corner background (made up of various tones of whites, blues, and yellows, and typical of Impressionist colour application) is in stark contrast with a black area of background and the dark dress of the mother-figure. Small, painterly strokes give detail to the thin fabric covering the child.