Winter

Berthe Morisot often used friends and family as models for her paintings, but the identity of the woman depicted in "Winter" remains unknown. While the painting may be a portrait, "Winter" also engages the history of the painting. The personification of the four seasons as fashionable women, for example, had been a popular subject since the 17th century. The painting's energetic brushwork also recalls the virtuosic oil sketches of 18th-century artists.