Artwork
Little Girl with Cat
Little Girl with Cat is a print by the Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot. It dates from 1889 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Berthe Morisot was encouraged to try printmaking by her friends, and she made a few prints.
The painting shows a little girl holding a cat.
She's dressed in simple clothes and looks quiet.
The girl and cat are the main focus of the picture, and the background is plain.
The artist made this print in 1889, which is interesting because she mostly painted.
Berthe Morisot was encouraged to try printmaking by her friends, and she made a few prints.
You can learn more about this style by looking at the work of artist: Morisot, Berthe.
Overview
Berthe Morisot’s 1889 dry‑point print depicts a young girl clasping a cat. The figures are rendered in modest attire against an unadorned backdrop, focusing attention on the quiet intimacy between child and animal. Though primarily known for her paintings, Morisot explored this medium at the encouragement of her Impressionist peers, producing a limited number of prints during the late 1870s and 1880s.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a domestic scene that emphasizes tenderness and restraint. The girl’s subdued posture and the cat’s calm presence suggest a moment of gentle observation rather than narrative action, reflecting Morisot’s interest in everyday life and the private sphere, themes recurrent in her broader oeuvre.
Technique & Style
Executed in dry‑point, the image bears the characteristic soft, velvety lines of the intaglio process, with subtle tonal gradations that convey the texture of fabric and fur. Morisot’s handling retains the loose, impressionistic sensibility of her paintings, translating brushwork into the fine, slightly blurred incisions of the plate.
History & Provenance
The print belongs to a suite of eight dry‑point works Morisot created around 1878, none of which were published during her lifetime. In 1921, art dealer Ambroise Vollard printed the plates, likely from matrices that Morisot never intended for public distribution. The V&A acquired this impression of the series decades later, preserving a rare example of her printmaking.
Context
Morisot’s foray into printmaking coincided with a broader Impressionist curiosity about new media, encouraged by colleagues such as Monet and Renoir. While she remained chiefly a painter, these prints demonstrate her willingness to experiment with technique and to extend the Impressionist focus on fleeting moments into the realm of intaglio.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot (French: ; 14 January 1841 – 2 March 1895) was a French painter, printmaker and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists.
Julie Manet Holding a Cat
Kneeling in an Armchair
Repose
The Caress
Needlework
Mother and Child, No. 2
Mother and Child, No. 2
Mother and Child, No. 1
Peasant Mother and Child
Bildnis einer Jungen Dame—Anneliese Halbe (Portrait of a Young Woman—Anneliese Halbe)
The Boy
Drawing of a dancing girl: study for 'The Borgia Family', a watercolour at Tullie House Museum, Carlisle