Delicate, charming, the pastels and drawings by Berthe Morisot are things of beauty and a joy to behold. Currently in disfavor, pastel as a medium was much admired by the color-sensitive Impressionists, whose skill with it was dazzling. Berthe Morisot was a sensitive, even brilliant draftsman; the line is firm, the faces full of light. Some of the sketches were preliminary studies for paintings, others are quick notes to record an attitude or gesture. Her own daughter, as well as other children frequently served as models for these perceptive sketches. As Elizabeth Mongan says in the catalog to a recent circulating exhibition of some of these same watercolors and pastels, “It is a rare and exceptional gift in an artist to be able to produce such an interpretation of youth without slipping into banality or sentimentality.” It is also a rare and exceptional treat to be able to see this work here in Los Angeles.
—Joan Hugo
