Mother Liberty and the Seducer - Berthe Morisot with Veil
12:00 AM
Mother Liberty and the Seducer
Curated by Alex McDonald
Curator's Note: The Mother Liberty and Seducer story arc has come to a close. I now leave you with two stories of thematic importance.
Manet’s brush pushes against the canvas. Colors blend. Shapes take form. Sweat dribbles down the artist’s brow. He works with a mission.
We are going to get your voice heard, Berthe, he promises. There are worse artists out there prospering. Why should you have to starve because of your sex?
Manet hears a muffled reply.
Speak up, darling. I can’t hear you.
He does not make out the next gurgled cries.
Berthe, this isn’t going to work if you can’t sit still.
Manet’s portrait stands close to completion. He hopes for his painting to attract attention to his suffering sister in law’s art career. A woman can’t make it anywhere in the world, Manet tells himself. She needs his help. If he can show the world through his art that Morisot demands the critics' attention, she can make it big. Like him. His talent will be the tool she uses to foster her own.
I am almost done. I just need to complete the mouth.
Be quiet, I don’t want to get this wrong. Manet looks up and drops his brush in shock.
Morisot’s mouth is sewed shut. Her eyes stare at Manet with an accusing gaze. A gaze that says all the words Morisot’s mouth cannot say.
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