plate no. 8513

After Luncheon

oil, canvasImpressionismportraitfigureportraitgardenwindowstill lifeflowers

what to study here

It shows how one luminous face can hold a composition while the dress, table, and garden are handled in progressively looser, broken strokes.

Start with the value plan. The brightest lights are the face, neck, and the white flowers and cup in the background. A broad middle register of purples, greens, and warm browns holds the dress, garden, and table. The darkest darks sit in the black bow tie, shadow foliage, and window frames. Squint and the face reads as a light island against mid-dark surroundings, so the figure carries without hard contrast anywhere else. Then study the edges. The face is the most carefully modeled passage, yet it still feathers into hair and dress. Edges come from value and color shifts, not line. The dress is built from directional strokes that follow the folds, with purples and blues mixed on the canvas rather than on the palette. The garden is loose dabs, with red and pink clusters standing in for flowers. The window frames are the most defined element and separate the intimate foreground from the garden. The table sits in warm shadow and anchors the foreground without pulling focus. Note the hierarchy of finish: tightest at the face, looser in the dress, loosest in the garden.

key decision

The painter kept the face as the lightest, most carefully modeled passage and let everything around it go to mid-dark values and loose, broken brushwork. The window frames give the composition its structure.

recreation guide

Berthe Morisot’s *After Luncheon* (1881) is a quintessential example of her mature Impressionist style, characterized by a rapid, spontaneous application of paint and a focus on domestic intimacy. Morisot’s technique during this period involved working quickly to capture fleeting sensory perceptions, often executing features like a mouth, eyes, or nose with a single brushstroke (Source 4). Her approach was not merely observational but deeply crafted; she believed a painter must first be a sound craftsman who understands the medium’s capacities to avoid being 'dumb' in expression (Source 1). The work likely reflects her practice of making countless studies from life to become familiar with her subjects, allowing for this confident execution (Source 4).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

5 items

steps

6 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints	Primary medium for the painting	—
Canvas	Support surface	Linen or cotton canvas, potentially unprimed or lightly primed
Watercolors and Pastels	Morisot frequently worked in oil, watercolor, and pastel simultaneously; these may have been used for preparatory studies or mixed media effects	—
Brushes	Application of paint	Various sizes, likely including flat and filbert brushes for broad masses and single-stroke details
White pigment	Morisot made expansive use of white to create transparency and harmony, often mixed with other colors or used as barely tinted whites	Titanium White or Zinc White

preparation

surface prep

Around 1880, Morisot began painting on unprimed canvases, a technique she experimented with alongside Manet and Eva Gonzalès (Source 5). For this recreation, the canvas should likely be left unprimed or very lightly sized to allow the paint to sink in slightly, contributing to the loose, spontaneous feel of the brushwork. The outer edges of the canvas may be left unfinished, allowing the raw canvas to show through, which increases the sense of spontaneity characteristic of her work (Source 5).

underdrawing

Morisot did much sketching as preparation for her oil paintings, making countless studies of her subjects drawn from life (Source 4). While specific underdrawing methods for *After Luncheon* are not detailed, her general practice involved thorough preparatory sketches. In the recreation, one should likely begin with a loose sketch in charcoal or thin oil to establish the general form and likeness, rather than a rigid outline, as Morisot was known to be 'too much tied down to your outline' only if one was timid, which she was not (Source 1 implies avoiding over-modeling and tight outlines).

underpainting

There is no specific source detailing an underpainting layer for this specific work. However, Morisot’s technique involved painting quickly and directly. It is likely that she applied paint directly onto the prepared surface, possibly using thin washes of oil or watercolor to establish tones, given her simultaneous use of multiple media (Source 4, Source 5).

color palette

White

Pure white or barely tinted whites

Creating a sense of transparency and harmonizing the painting; Morisot made expansive use of white (Source 5).

Complementary pairs

e.g., Red and Green, Blue and Orange

Enhancing color intensity and harmony. Morisot was regarded as a 'virtuoso colourist' who used color to create space and depth (Source 5). Placing complementary colors next to each other can increase their brilliancy (Source 2).

Limited Palette

Morisot’s palette was somewhat limited but used effectively

General use in this artist's palette; she kept the use of color to a minimum when constructing a motif, inspired by Manet (Source 5).

composition

Morisot created a sense of space and depth through the use of color rather than strict linear perspective (Source 5). Her compositions often balanced the density of figures with the atmospheric traits of light, sharing an interest with Renoir in this regard (Source 5). The painting likely features a domestic interior scene, consistent with her focus on intimate, everyday moments. Specific compositional details of *After Luncheon* are not described in the sources, so the recreation should focus on capturing the atmospheric light and the relationship between the figures and their environment through color and brushwork.

step by step

underdrawing→first pass→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the general forms and likeness of the subjects using charcoal or thin oil. Focus on capturing the pose and expression without getting tied down to rigid outlines.
Tip — Morisot made countless studies from life to become familiar with her subjects, allowing for confident execution (Source 4).
Preparatory sketching

first pass

step 02
Apply paint quickly, using broad masses to establish the main areas of light and shadow. Avoid over-modeling at this stage.
Tip — If you are able to deal with broad masses but fail in finish, copying works like Van Eyck’s can help, but for Impressionism, the initial broad strokes are key (Source 1).
Broad masses

refining

step 03
Refine the features, such as the mouth, eyes, and nose, using single brushstrokes. Morisot could paint these features with a single stroke due to her familiarity with the subject (Source 4).
Tip — Paint very quickly to capture the fleeting sensory perception. Do not over-work the paint.
Single brushstroke details
step 04
Use complementary colors to enhance the intensity of specific areas. For example, place blue tones next to orange drapery to make it appear more orange (Source 2).
Tip — Morisot was a virtuoso colorist who used color to create space and depth (Source 5).
Complementary color juxtaposition

finishing

step 05
Leave the outer edges of the painting unfinished, allowing the canvas to show through. This increases the sense of spontaneity (Source 5).
Tip — Do not feel the need to paint every inch of the canvas. The raw canvas can contribute to the Impressionist effect.
Unfinished edges
step 06
Review the painting for balance between the density of figures and the atmospheric traits of light, similar to Renoir’s influence on Morisot (Source 5).
Tip — Ensure the light feels natural and the figures are integrated into the space through color.
Atmospheric balance

critical techniques

Rapid Brushwork

Morisot painted very quickly, often executing features with a single brushstroke. This required extensive preparatory sketching and familiarity with the subject (Source 4).

Use of White

Morisot made expansive use of white, either pure or mixed with other colors, to create transparency and harmony. She used barely tinted whites to harmonize paintings (Source 5).

Complementary Color Juxtaposition

Placing complementary colors next to each other can increase their brilliancy. For example, red beside green will seem redder (Source 2). Morisot was a virtuoso colorist who used color to create space and depth (Source 5).

Unprimed Canvas

Around 1880, Morisot began painting on unprimed canvases, which likely contributed to the loose, spontaneous feel of her brushwork (Source 5).

common pitfalls

→Over-modeling: Morisot’s technique was about capturing fleeting perceptions, not detailed realism. Avoid spending too much time refining details, which can lead to a 'smallness' or timidity (Source 1).
→Tight Outlines: Being too tied down to outlines can hinder the spontaneous feel of Impressionist painting. Morisot’s brushwork was loose and rapid (Source 1, Source 4).
→Ignoring Color Harmony: Failing to use complementary colors to enhance intensity and create depth can result in a flat appearance. Morisot was a virtuoso colorist (Source 5).
→Over-priming the Canvas: Using a heavily primed canvas may not capture the texture and spontaneity Morisot achieved with unprimed surfaces (Source 5).

what the sources don't tell us

Where the corpus is silent, we say so rather than guess. These are the gaps a complete recreation guide would normally cover that our source passages don't.

·Specific pigment recipes used by Morisot for *After Luncheon* are not provided in the sources.
·The exact sequence of layers (e.g., whether she used an underpainting) for this specific painting is not detailed.
·The specific lighting conditions and time of day depicted in *After Luncheon* are not described in the sources.
·The exact dimensions and aspect ratio of the original painting are not provided.

cross-referenced from

Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.

Wikipedia: Berthe Morisot↗
- Biography and Technique — applied to Overview, Skill Level, Materials List, Step-by-Step Process, Critical Techniques
Wikipedia: Portrait painting↗
- Techniques and Materials — applied to Underdrawing, Common Pitfalls

Read more about the corpus on the sources page and how the guides are built on the methods page.

read from the painting

observed from the image, not the label

6 dominant colors, measured

what the eye sees

A young woman in a lavender-purple jacket with a black bow tie sits at a foreground table, her pale face the brightest accent against the darker garment and the luminous garden visible through the window behind her. Strong directional light enters from the left through multiple paned windows, flooding the space with soft, diffused illumination that is warmest on the figure's face and coolest in the window frames and deep garden shadow. The eye is drawn first to the face's freshness and the focal point of the straw hat trimmed with red ribbons, then drops to the black bow tie and the gestural brushwork of the dress, before traveling outward to the lush background of red and white flowers framed by green foliage. The window becomes a strong compositional anchor—its geometric blue-purple frames divide the canvas and separate the intimate foreground moment from the garden beyond.

value structure

The painting operates on three distinct value zones: the brightest lights are the face, neck, and white flowers and cup in the background; a broad middle register of purples, greens, and warm browns occupies the dress, garden, and table; the darkest darks cluster in the black bow tie, deep shadow foliage, and window frames. Squinting reveals the face as a luminous island of light against the surrounding mid-dark values, with the window frames creating dark vertical passages that frame the lighter garden. The table surface sits in warm, mid-dark shadow, anchoring the foreground without pulling focus from the figure.

observed palette and mixes

#bbb2a7
Titanium white + raw sienna + tiny touch of ultramarine
Face, neck, and the brightest highlights on the figure's collar and hands
#9f9790
Raw sienna + ultramarine + white
Warm mid-tone shadows on the face and neck, flesh shadow areas
#796866
Alizarin + ultramarine + raw sienna
Mid-tone areas of the dress, warm shadows in the table surface, some foliage
#88817e
Raw umber + ultramarine + white
Weathered wood table surface, earth-toned areas in the garden beneath the flowers
#586266
Ultramarine + ivory black + touch of white
Window frame shadows, cool deep tones in foliage, cast shadows
#443f47
Ultramarine + alizarin + ivory black
Darkest areas of the dress, deep shadows, the black bow tie
#d4a580
Yellow ochre + cadmium red light + white
The straw hat's warm tan color
#8b5a7d
Ultramarine + alizarin + cadmium red light
The dominant lavender-purple of the dress

edges and brushwork

Morisot uses distinctly loose, broken brushwork throughout—the background garden is rendered almost entirely as loose dabs and gestural strokes of color, with individual flowers suggested as clusters of red and pink rather than defined forms. The dress shows expressive, directional strokes that follow the folds and movement of fabric, with color mixing happening on canvas rather than the palette; notice how purples, blues, and touches of other hues blend optically in the dress. The face, while more carefully modeled than the background, still maintains soft, feathered edges where it meets the hair and dress, with no hard outlines—edges are created through value and color shift, not line. The window frames are the most defined elements but still have subtle irregularity in their application.

a working sequence

01
Establish structure and values
Block in the major compositional elements with thinned paint: the figure's silhouette and dress mass, the window frame grid, the table edge, and the general light-to-dark relationship. Use a mid-purple or brown mixture thinned with turpentine. Establish that the face and neck will be your lightest light values, the bow tie and dark foliage your darkest darks, and everything else a mid-register. This underpainting doesn't need detail—it's about proportions and value placement.
02
Paint the window and garden background
Work loosely and fast here. Lay in the blue-purple window frames with broken, directional strokes. Behind the panes, apply loose greens, yellows, and earth tones for the foliage mass, letting colors overlap and blend naturally. Add clusters of red and white flowers as simple dabs and strokes—they don't need to be botanical; suggest rather than define. The garden should feel atmospheric and out-of-focus compared to the figure. Don't overwork this area.
03
Lay in the dress and jacket
Block in the lavender-purple dress with generous, slightly thinned paint, following the direction of the fabric folds. Notice how the purple shifts cooler in shadows (more blue) and warmer in highlights (more pink). Don't blend excessively; let the color variations suggest form. The dress dominates half the canvas, so this is where much of your color mixing happens. Add the black bow tie as a strong accent at the neckline—it will anchor the composition.
04
Model the face and hands
Paint the face with warm peachy-tan mixtures (white + raw sienna + touch of ultramarine), keeping it lighter than any surrounding area. The face is small but crucial—soft modeling with no harsh edges. Place the eyes simply; let shadows suggest form rather than line. Paint the hands in the foreground with similar warm flesh tone, loosely rendered. Add the straw hat in warm yellow-ochre with soft edges where it meets the hair.
05
Paint the foreground table and objects
Lay in the table surface with warm browns and grays (raw umber + ultramarine), using loose, directional strokes to suggest the wooden grain and worn surface. Paint the white cup or glass vessel with crisp white and soft gray shadows—it should read clearly against the warm table. Add the bread or pastry form with warm, peachy tones. Keep this foreground looser than the face but more deliberate than the garden.
06
Soften edges and integrate
Step back and assess. Use a soft brush to blend or soften the edges where the figure meets the garden—these should be soft and feathered, never hard lines. Blend the dress into the background subtly at the edges. The face should sit as a light, warm island; make sure no surrounding color is pulling it back. Let some warm underpainting glow through the dress in places where the layering is thin. Integrate the table and still life by adjusting neighboring colors so they feel unified.
07
Optical mixing and atmospheric unity
Add final touches: small warm or cool strokes over the dress to enhance the fabric's luminosity and complexity. Scatter hints of white or light yellow in the garden flowers to echo the face's brightness. Deepen shadows where needed—some touches of near-black in the window frames or foliage will make the lights glow. Step back frequently to ensure the entire painting reads as a cohesive mood captured in that moment of soft afternoon light.
08
Final details and restraint
Resist overworking. A few more dabs of red flower accent, perhaps a line or two suggesting folds in the dress, and touches of definition in the eyes. Remember that Morisot's power comes from what she leaves implied rather than painted. The painting's success rests on the balance between the figure and its atmospheric setting—maintain that balance rather than adding more detail.

where studies of this painting go wrong

Painting the garden background too crisply or with too much detail—it will compete with the figure and destroy the atmospheric softness. Keep it loose, broken-color, and slightly out-of-focus.
Making the face or hands too dark or too saturated—they need to sing out as the lightest, most luminous passages. If the values are correct, the modeling will read even with minimal detail.
Hardening edges everywhere—especially where the dress meets the background garden and where the figure meets the table. Soft, feathered edges are essential to the impressionistic effect.
Overblending the dress to a smooth surface—the power is in the broken color and directional strokes. Leave some paint texture and color variation visible rather than smoothing it into uniformity.
Neglecting the window frames as compositional anchors—they divide the space and frame the figure. They don't need to be geometrically perfect, but they need to read as the structural spine of the composition.

measured difficulty