Berthe MorisotFrench, 1841–1895In the Dining Room
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “In the Dining Room” now? National Gallery of Art, Gallery 87 · West Building, Main Floor, Washington, D.C. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Closed· opens tomorrow at 10:00 AM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
In the Dining Room is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French impressionist artist Berthe Morisot, created in 1886. It shows a young woman in the center of the domestic environment of a dining room. The painting is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C.
Details
- Accession number
- 1963.10.185
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- National Gallery of Art
- Image: National Gallery of Art — Museum open access
In the life of Berthe Morisot
The whole life1875–1885
Oil, watercolour and pastel at once
Grown more confident in oil, Morisot, like Degas, works in oil, watercolour and pastel at the same time. She paints very quickly but prepares with countless studies, so that she can paint “a mouth, eyes, and a nose with a single brushstroke”.
1885–1887
A turn to drawing: line and form
After 1885 drawing begins to dominate Morisot's work: she experiments with charcoal and coloured pencils and clarifies form and line, influenced by photography and Japonism. Like the Japanese prints of the time, she places objects away from the centre of the composition.
1887–1895
Squaring and tracing paper: the synthesis of her last years
Morisot starts to use squaring and tracing paper to transcribe her drawings exactly onto the canvas, which lets her build compositions with more complicated interaction between figures. Her late works are distinctive for their synthesis of the Impressionist touch with broad strokes and light reflections and the graphic approach of clear lines.
1888–1889
From short strokes to long, sinuous ones
In 1888–89 Morisot's brushstrokes change from short, rapid ones to long, sinuous ones that define form; the outer edges of her paintings are often left unfinished, so that the canvas shows through and increases the sense of spontaneity.
![The Watering Place (Horses Bathing) [L'abreuvoir (chevaux au bain)], Pablo Picasso, 1906](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/bbac782b-88ea-4477-97a5-4369aa47b98a/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
