Tureen and Apple (also catalogued as Soup Tureen and Apple) is a still life painted by Berthe Morisot in 1877, a pivotal year within her most productive Impressionist period. The work, executed in oil on canvas and measuring 56 × 46 cm, is held in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris [3]. Painted three years after Morisot's debut in the first Impressionist exhibition of 1874, the canvas exemplifies her distinctive approach to domestic subject matter, employing a muted palette and loose brushwork to transform an ordinary kitchen scene into a study of light and texture [1].
The painting entered the collection of the Musée d'Orsay (Q1189960), where it remains today [3]. Its dimensions of 56 × 46 cm place it among Morisot's intimate-scale still lifes, a format that invites close viewing and emphasizes the personal, domestic character of her subject matter [3]. The work is dated to 1877, a year in which Morisot was actively participating in the Impressionist exhibitions, having shown in the group's second exhibition in 1876 [1].
Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot (14 January 1841 – 2 March 1895) was a French painter, printmaker, and a central member of the Parisian circle that became known as the Impressionists [1]. Born in Bourges into an affluent bourgeois family, she received early training from Joseph Guichard and Achille-François Oudinot, exhibiting at the Paris Salon for the first time in 1864 [1]. Her work was accepted at the Salon six times before she joined the "rejected" Impressionists in their first independent exhibition in 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 participated in all but one of the eight Impressionist exhibitions held between 1874 and 1886 [1]. She was married to Eugène Manet, brother of her friend and colleague Édouard Manet, and was described by 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].
The work is executed in oil on canvas, the medium favored by the Impressionists for its versatility in capturing fleeting effects of light and atmosphere [1][3]. At 56 × 46 cm, the canvas is modest in scale, a format consistent with Morisot's focus on intimate domestic scenes rather than the grand historical or mythological subjects favored by the academic tradition [3]. The composition centers on a tureen and a single apple, arranged to create a sense of balance and quiet contemplation. Morisot's characteristic loose brushwork and soft, muted palette of whites, creams, and pinks are evident in the handling, lending the objects a sense of immediacy and tactile presence [1].
In the tradition of French still-life painting, the tureen—a vessel for serving food—carries associations with domesticity, hospitality, and the nurturing role of women in 19th-century bourgeois society. The apple, a motif with deep roots in Western art, has been read variously as a symbol of knowledge, temptation, and the simplicity of everyday life. Within Morisot's oeuvre, such objects are not merely decorative but reflect her sustained engagement with the intimate spaces of women's lives, a theme that distinguished her from many of her male Impressionist contemporaries who favored landscapes and urban scenes [1].
The painting was created during a period of significant transformation in the French art world. The Impressionist movement emerged as a reaction against the formalism of academic painting, prioritizing the capture of fleeting moments and the effects of light over finished, idealized compositions [1]. Morisot was at the forefront of this movement, participating in the first Impressionist exhibition of 1874 and in six of the seven subsequent group shows through 1886 [1]. As a woman artist in a male-dominated field, she played a crucial role in the movement, and her work—alongside that of Bracquemond and Cassatt—was recognized by contemporaries as central to the Impressionist project [1]. Her participation in these exhibitions marked a significant moment in her career and in the broader history of women's contributions to modern art [1].
The painting is dated to 1877, according to the Wikidata catalogue record [3].
The work is held in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris (Q1189960) [3].
The painting measures 56 × 46 cm [3].
Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot (French: [bɛʁt mɔʁizo]; 14 January 1841 – 2 March 1895) was a French painter, printmaker and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists. In 1864, Morisot exhibited for the
French painter, 1841-1895
inception: 1877-01-01; dimensions: +56 × +46 cm; collection: Q1189960
Louie Drehmer, Curator, ArtWiki
Louie curates ArtWiki, cross-referencing every entry against museum records, Wikidata, the Getty Union List of Artist Names, and Wikipedia.
Tureen And Apple is an oil painting by Berthe Morisot, 1877, held at Q1189960.
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