Four flowers and greenery create a loose bouquet in a clear glass in this vertical still life, which is painted with visible brushstrokes throughout. The glass has a tall, narrow, rounded bowl on a flaring foot like a drinking glass. One fully open, light pink peony bloom bows over the edge of the glass to our left. A pink bud stands upright in the glass. Two other oblong flowers, perhaps closed tulips, angle to the left. One is smoky purple, and the other is cream-white edged with brick red. One pink petal lies on the tabletop, which is painted with broad strokes of ash and earth brown. Canvas is visible along the bottom edge and in the lower corners. The background behind the flowers is painted with dashes and long strokes.

Peonies

Berthe Morisot

Four flowers and greenery create a loose bouquet in a clear glass in this vertical still life, which is painted with visible brushstrokes throughout. The glass has a tall, narrow, rounded bowl on a flaring foot like a drinking glass. One fully open, light pink peony bloom bows over the edge of the glass to our left. A pink bud stands upright in the glass. Two other oblong flowers, perhaps closed tulips, angle to the left. One is smoky purple, and the other is cream-white edged with brick red. One pink petal lies on the tabletop, which is painted with broad strokes of ash and earth brown. Canvas is visible along the bottom edge and in the lower corners. The background behind the flowers is painted with dashes and long strokes.

Colors in this work

Details
Artist
Berthe Morisot
Date
c. 1869
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 40.8 x 33 cm (16 1/16 x 13 in.) framed: 46.7 x 38.4 x 2.5 cm (18 3/8 x 15 1/8 x 1 in.)
Department
CF
Holding institution
National Gallery of Art
Palette

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Image provider
national-gallery-of-art
License
CC0-1.0
Credit
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

Art Genome Taxonomy

8 tags

Subject Matter

  • Still Life Both · 99%

    The image depicts a bouquet arranged in a glass on a tabletop, and the catalog explicitly identifies the work as a vertical still life.

  • Flora Both · 99%

    Flowers and greenery dominate the composition; the catalog describes four flowers and greenery, and the title identifies the subject as peonies.

Visual Qualities

  • Earth Tones Visual · 95%

    Muted ochres, browns, gray-greens, dusty pinks, and smoky purple establish a predominantly earthy palette.

  • Asymmetrical Visual · 92%

    The bouquet and glass are positioned off-center, with blooms, leaves, and stems extending unevenly across the picture plane.

Medium and Techniques

  • Oil Painting Metadata · 100%

    The catalog specifies the medium as oil on canvas.

  • Painting Both · 100%

    The work is cataloged as a painting, and the image visibly consists of an applied-paint composition on canvas.

  • Large Brushstrokes/Loose Brushwork Both · 98%

    Broad and visibly varied brushstrokes appear across the flowers, foliage, background, vessel, and tabletop; the catalog also specifically notes visible brushstrokes throughout.

Time Periods

  • 19th Century Art Metadata · 99%

    The catalog dates the work to circa 1869, placing it within the nineteenth century.

Source & rights

Berthe Morisot. Peonies. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.

High-resolution sources

Catalog record ↗ Image source ↗ Image license ↗ Image-use terms ↗ Catalog metadata terms ↗

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