The Psyche mirror

It's Sunday so it's time for our special feature from the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza's collection in Madrid!

Berthe Morisot was closely associated with French Impressionism and actively participated in all the group’s exhibitions. She maintained close and creative links with Manet, Renoir, and Degas, sharing their interest in subjects derived from everyday life and in capturing the effects of light.

The Psyche Mirror (also known as The Cheval-Glass), which was included in the Impressionist exhibition of 1877, is an excellent example of these interests. A woman gathers up the waist of her loose blouse at the back, possibly imagining the effect of wearing a corset. The light, entering from the two windows that flank the mirror in which she looks at herself, and the reflections on the mirror create a rich tonal range of whites. The full-length figure of the woman is depicted in a flirtatious pose, her left shoulder bare and turned towards the viewer. A tilting dressing mirror of this type was known as a Psyche, a title that was given to this painting on various occasions.

- Paloma Alarcó

P.S. If you would like to learn more about Berthe (I love her works!) please check our online course on Impressionism. By the way, you can also check our paper calendars for 2021; they wait for you in our shop!  : )  Enjoy!

P.P.S. Check five Impressionist gossips that will make you feel they staged a soap opera here!  :D