Jour d'Été

Datec. 1879

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions45.7 × 75.2 cm

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineSir Hugh Lane Bequest, 1917, The National Gallery, London. In partnership with Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.

Object number3264

DescriptionThis is probably the painting that Morisot exhibited under the title The Lake in the Bois de Boulogne in the fifth Impressionist exhibition, held in 1880. Her entries into this exhibition included a number of superb paintings that emphasised the human figure. This work features two fashionably-dressed young women in a boat floating on a lake. The women appear in other works by Morisot. The composition is informal. One of the women is seen in profile and appears to be observing three ducks nearby while the other woman looks directly out at the viewer. On the far shore, there is a tiny detail of a horse-drawn carriage moving swiftly along.

This freely painted work with its rapidly applied brush strokes is typical of Morisot's work. Her technique, based on touches of paint applied freely in every direction, give her works a transparent, iridescent quality evident in the shimmering water. This work is quintessentially impressionist in its attempt to capture the subjective impression of light in a scene. Morisot remained faithful to the Impressionist movement throughout her career and participated in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 and in most of the subsequent shows.

Morisot studied for a time with Corot. She was married to Édouard Manet's brother Eugène.

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