Aboard a Yacht 1875

Berthe Morisot painted this watercolor, Aboard a Yacht, with loose washes of color and economical line work. Watercolor, as a painting medium, perfectly suited Morisot's aesthetic interests. It's easily portable, allowing for quick studies en plein air, and its fluid nature captures the ephemeral qualities of light and atmosphere. The washes of diluted pigment create a sense of transparency, mirroring the reflections on the water. Morisot was deeply engaged with the world around her, and in this work, she captures a sense of leisure, movement, and the social milieu of yachting, which was becoming increasingly popular among the Parisian bourgeoisie. However, behind this image of a moment in time, we must acknowledge the tradition of watercolor painting itself – from its origins as a tool for scientific illustration and cartography, to its development as a refined art form, and eventually to its adoption by Impressionist painters like Morisot. Looking closely at the visible brushstrokes and layers of color in the piece, it's clear that Morisot didn't simply represent reality; she actively shaped it through her understanding of materials and processes. The looseness of the brushwork, combined with the fluid nature of the paint, mirrors the rippling of the water and the billowing of the sails. This interplay between the materiality of the medium and the subject matter of the painting is essential to understanding Morisot's artistic vision.