The Butterfly Hunt (1874) is a small oil painting by Berthe Morisot that captures a young girl in a garden reaching for butterflies — a subject that distills the Impressionist fascination with fleeting moments of light and movement into an intimate scene of childhood play. Painted in the same year Morisot joined the first Impressionist exhibition, the work exemplifies her signature loose brushwork and light palette, and it remains one of the clearest expressions of her engagement with themes of femininity, domesticity, and nature.

Artist: Berthe Morisot and the Impressionist circle

Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot (14 January 1841 – 2 March 1895) was a French painter and printmaker and a member of the circle of Parisian artists who became known as the Impressionists ^[1]. Born in Bourges into an affluent bourgeois family, she first exhibited at the highly esteemed Paris Salon in 1864, listed as a student of Joseph Guichard and Achille-François Oudinot ^[1]. Her work was selected for exhibition in six subsequent Salons until 1874, when she joined the "rejected" Impressionists in the first of their own exhibitions (15 April – 15 May 1874), held at the studio of the photographer Nadar, alongside Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley ^[1]. Morisot went on to participate in all but one of the following eight Impressionist exhibitions between 1874 and 1886 ^[1]. She was married to Eugène Manet, the brother of her friend and colleague Édouard Manet, and was described by art critic Gustave Geffroy in 1894 as one of Les trois grandes dames — "The three great ladies" — of Impressionism, alongside Marie Bracquemond and Mary Cassatt ^[1].

Date and dimensions: a work of 1874

The Butterfly Hunt is dated to 1874, the same year Morisot participated in the first Impressionist exhibition ^[3]. The painting is modest in scale, measuring 46 × 56 cm ^[3]. Its small dimensions are consistent with Morisot's tendency toward intimate, domestic subjects rather than the large-scale history paintings that dominated the official Salon ^[1].

Collection: the Musée d'Orsay

The painting is held in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris ^[3]. The museum's holdings of Impressionist works make it a fitting home for a painting by one of the movement's central female figures ^[1].

Subject and iconography: the fleeting moment of childhood

The painting depicts a young girl in a garden, her arms outstretched as she reaches for butterflies. The subject aligns with Morisot's broader oeuvre, which frequently focused on women and children in domestic and natural settings ^[1]. The butterfly — a creature associated with transformation and the ephemeral — serves as a visual metaphor for the transient nature of childhood and the Impressionist commitment to capturing momentary experiences. The garden setting reinforces the theme of harmony between the child and the natural world, a recurring concern in Morisot's work.

Technique: light palette and loose brushwork

Morisot's style in this period is marked by a light palette and loose brushstrokes that convey the fleeting effects of light on the landscape and figure. In The Butterfly Hunt, the soft greens, pinks, and whites create a harmonious atmosphere that evokes the tranquility of a summer day. The girl is positioned off-center, drawing the viewer's eye across the canvas and suggesting a sense of spontaneous movement. This approach reflects the broader Impressionist commitment to capturing the transient effects of light and atmosphere, a goal Morisot shared with her colleagues Monet and Renoir ^[1].

Historical context: the 1874 Impressionist exhibition

The year 1874 was pivotal for Morisot. After years of exhibiting at the official Salon, she joined the independent exhibition organized by the Impressionists, a group that had been "rejected" by the Salon's jury ^[1]. The exhibition, held at Nadar's studio, marked a break with academic tradition and established the Impressionists as a distinct movement. The Butterfly Hunt, painted in this same year, can be understood as part of this broader artistic shift — a work that embraces the informal, the domestic, and the fleeting, in direct contrast to the polished history paintings favored by the Academy ^[1].

Reception and legacy

Morisot's work received mixed reviews during her lifetime. While some critics praised her technique, others dismissed her subject matter as too feminine — a reflection of the societal attitudes toward women artists in 19th-century France ^[1]. Today, however, Morisot is recognized as a central figure of Impressionism, and her contributions are acknowledged alongside those of her male counterparts ^[1]. Art critic Gustave Geffroy's 1894 designation of her as one of the "three great ladies" of Impressionism underscores her significance within the movement ^[1]. The Butterfly Hunt remains a celebrated example of her ability to convey complex themes through seemingly simple subjects.

Frequently asked questions

When was The Butterfly Hunt painted?

The Butterfly Hunt was painted in 1874, the same year Morisot participated in the first Impressionist exhibition ^[3][1].

Where is The Butterfly Hunt located?

The painting is part of the collection of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris ^[3].

What are the dimensions of The Butterfly Hunt?

The painting measures 46 × 56 cm ^[3].