At about the time that Morisot depicted this model in her Paris apartment, an admiring critic wrote: "she grinds flower petals onto her palette, in order to spread them later on her canvas with airy, witty touches . . . producing something vital, fine, and charming." The painter was then at her apogee, having developed a signature style that updated the bravura brushwork of her brother-in-law Edouard Manet with more spirited handling and opalescent tints. She enjoyed a highly successful career, participating in the official Salons and in seven of the eight Impressionist exhibitions.
