Eugene Mans on the Isle of Wight by Berthe Morisot

Creating a picture of “Eugene Manet on the Isle of Wight,” Berthe Morisot for the first time performs a portrait of her husband. She portrays him looking through the window at the passers-by and the ships visible in the distance. The bold composition of the painting demonstrates the author’s ability to simultaneously depict the interior and what is outside, as well as the interaction of both spaces.

The space between the frame of the raised window and the garden fence, forming an elongated rectangle that seems to cover what Eugen Manet’s eye sees, resembles a lens hole. A static observer of the mobile, dynamic world – this is a portrait of the artist’s husband. The picture is the point at which what is outside, is confronted with what is inside, the intimate world – with the reality surrounding it, the dream – with reality.