Portrait of a Woman in a pink dress

Berthe Morisot completed this portrait around 1870, showing a woman in a flowing pink dress rendered with the loose, expressive brushwork characteristic of Impressionism. The soft colors and atmospheric handling give the figure an almost ethereal quality.

Morisot was a founding member of the Impressionist movement and one of its most prominent female painters. She exhibited in nearly all of the group's exhibitions and was closely connected to Édouard Manet (she married his brother Eugène). Her portraits and domestic scenes captured feminine subjects with psychological sensitivity and technical boldness.

This painting is held in a private collection. Morisot worked primarily on intimate subjects: women reading, children playing, gardens and interiors. The pink tones of the dress demonstrate her skill at depicting the effects of light on fabric and flesh. She was considered alongside Mary Cassatt and Marie Bracquemond as one of the "three great ladies" of Impressionism.