Berthe Morisot, the most mysterious of Manet's models, was a painter in her own right, who sold her paintings and exposed them to both praise and jeers.
When Madame Eugène Manet participated in the first Impressionist exhibition, held in 1874, she was no longer a novice.
In 1877, she displayed Young Woman Powdering Herself, a theme that suited her taste for the light and luminous tones of silvery grey and pale pink, which were sometimes closer to pastel than oil painting. Critics used this delicacy to criticize the rest of the group even more fiercely.
Three rows of black beads to vibrate the light of an intimate scene : beautiful brand of femininity that the jet jewelry worn by this young woman at her toilette, contrasting sharply with the white negligee and hair undone in the model.
