of old legends. The landscape and people of her native
land seem to her as eminently suitable motives, and these
realities she renders in the spirit of a by-gone age — that
of the national heroes of the sagas and epics of the coun-
try, or the lyric atmosphere of the folk-songs.
She may depict these conceptions, full of feeling, in the
dull colors of the North, or in rich and glowing hues, but
the impression she gives is much the same in both cases,
a generally restful effect, though the faces in her pictures
are full of life and emotion. Her choice of subjects and
her manner of treatment almost inevitably introduce
some archaic quality in her work. This habit and the
fact that she cares more for color than for drawing are the
usual criticisms of her pictures.
Her " St. Agnes " is an interesting rendering of a well-
worn subject. " Adelil the Proud," exhibited at the Paris
Exposition of 1889, tells the story of the Duke of Fry-
densburg, who was in love with Adelil, the king's daugh-
ter. The king put him to death, and the attendants of
Adelil made of his heart a viand which they presented to
her. When she learned what this singular substance was
— that caused her to tremble violently — she asked for
wine, and carrying the cup to her lips with a tragic ges-
ture, in memory of her lover, she died of a broken heart.
It is such legends as these that Mme. Slott-MoUer
revives, and by which she is widely known.
Morisot or Morizot, Berthe. Married name Manet.
Born at Bourges, 1840, died in Paris, 1895. A pupil of
Guichard and Oudinot. After her marriage to !pug^ne
Manet she came under the influence of his famous brother,
Page:Women in the Fine Arts From the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentiet.djvu/511
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388
WOMEN IN THE FINE ARTS