together in the sun

thanks wikipaintings.org. public domain

In a warm season in France in 1892, a girl and her pet take a moment to look at each other.  And after all, what adds more perfectly to a peaceful day outside than a happy dog to share it with you?  This is Berthe Morisot's "Girl with Dog," oil on canvas.  As you probably gathered from the brushwork and color, Morisot was an Impressionist.  She had studied under Corot, who introduced her to plein-air painting, a practice she later would persuade her friend Manet to undertake.  (After all these years I still get him mixed up with Monet - but Manet is the painter of Luncheon on the Grass.)  This may well be an example of her own plein-air exercises, in which she would stand outside and capture the color and light as it existed to her eye.  Lucky her to have this lush idyll to capture.  And lucky me this dark December morning to find it.  By the way, don't you love the dog's beautiful red-brown coat?  I think that may be my favorite dog color.