Berthe Morisot was born at Bourges, France on January 14, 1841. She grew up in a bourgeois family which, in a break from usual practice, encouraged Berthe and her sister, Edme, in their painting. She first studied with Guichard, a follower of Ingres, but in 1862 she made the acquaintance of Corot, and went over to his disciple Oudinot. Her next great influence was Manet, and it was under his guidance that she took up figure-painting as well as landscapes, exhibiting both kinds of work at the Salons from 1870 on. As a young woman, she joined the avant-garde and showed works at the impressionist exhibits that challenged the official Salon; her earlier paintings are lovely examples of what might be called mai...