MARIE BRACQUEMOND

Marie Bracquemond (born Quivoron), renowned as an Impressionist artist, started in Étampes during the 1850s, where she received her initial training before refining her skills in Paris in the studio of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.

From 1859 Marie Bracquemond embarked on a prolific career as a painter, initially exhibiting her works under her mother’s name at the Salon. In 1869, she married Félix Bracquemond, a painter, engraver and ceramist, who played a pivotal role in her artistic development. Between 1872 and 1881, under Félix’s guidance, she studied painting at the Atelier d’Auteuil and contributed to the re-designed ceramic decorations for the Haviland Factory.

Settled in the Villa Brancas in Sèvres, near Paris, the couple regularly invited leading figures of Impressionism, who had a certain influence on the work of Marie Bracquemond, such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Henri Fantin-Latour, Édouard Manet, the Sisley’s, whom Marie represented on different occasions, and Paul Gauguin, who dedicated one of his paintings to Marie in 1886.

Marie Bracquemond’s most notable achievement came in 1878 with her creation of the monumental ceramic panel «Les Muses des Arts,» which incorporated motifs inspired by modern life. Her artistic vision extended to press drawings and luminous paintings depicting female figures in natural landscapes, despite facing limitations in accessing models.

Her participation in the Impressionist exhibitions of 1879, 1880 and 1886, at the invitation of Degas, showed Marie’s diverse artistic repertoire. Although her stylistic development occasionally diverged from that of her contemporaries, she was well-embraced by the impressionists. Indeed her style is in direct filiation of Monet, Degas or Renoir. In the 1880s, she ventured into original etchings, further expanding her creative horizons.
Her engraved self-portrait garnered acclaim at the Société des Peintres-Graveurs Français exhibition in 1890. In 1893, at her last exhibition, she presented two etchings in the Woman’s Building at the Chicago World’s Fair. As her public career ended abruptly, she decided to paint and use watercolour privately.

Following her death, her son Pierre held a retrospective exhibition in 1919, reigniting interest in her work at the Bernheim Jeune Gallery. In 1934, the Salon des Femmes Artistes Modernes (FAM) organised a retrospective of works by Marie Bracquemond and Camille Claudel.

Though overshadowed by her husband during her lifetime, recent studies and exhibitions have shed light on her legacy. Notably, the 2019 Musée d’Orsay exhibition «Women, Art and Power» showcased her drawings and watercolours, reaffirming her significant contributions to the art world.

Today, her works are celebrated in public collections worldwide, including esteemed institutions such as the Petit Palais, Orsay Museum, the Louvre Museum and Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris among others, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Marie Bracquemond’s legacy continues to inspire and captivate audiences, cementing her place among the distinguished ranks of Impressionist artists, on the side of Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt.

Ludivine Fortier

Published in partnership with the Musée d'Orsay.