The Blue Vase 1888

Berthe Morisot likely painted this still life, known as "The Blue Vase", with oil on canvas. Notice how the fleeting brushstrokes capture the vase and its flowers. She has captured a quiet moment in time. Morisot’s chosen materials and techniques are crucial to understanding this work, as they reflect her rejection of academic painting. Instead, she embraced the directness and spontaneity of Impressionism. In doing so, she challenged the traditional hierarchy between fine art and craft, and the distinction between male and female art. Flowers themselves have a rich and gendered history, being associated with the feminine realm. The blue and white porcelain vase is likely Chinese, and would have been an expensive luxury import object that was desired among bourgeois women at the time. In the end, Morisot reminds us that art is not just about the subject matter, but also about the way it's made and the cultural values it embodies.