View of Paris from the Trocadero 1872

Berthe Morisot painted this view of Paris from the Trocadero, probably in the 1870s, using oil on canvas. The painting captures a moment of bourgeois leisure, with two elegantly dressed women and a child observing the city. It is interesting to note that the painting was made in France, in the decades after the 1848 revolution, a time of rapid social and economic change. The city itself was being redesigned by Haussmann, a process that displaced many working-class people and created new spaces for the wealthy to enjoy. Morisot's painting reflects this new urban landscape, where private encounters occur within the public sphere. It seems to capture the social codes of gender and class, but also her own position as a female artist within that society. To understand such a work better, one might consider consulting sources that include historical maps, fashion plates, and writings on urban planning. Art history shows us that even seemingly simple views of the world are embedded with social and institutional meaning.