'Le Corsage Noir'

Berthe Morisot is best known for her intimate domestic interior scenes for which she often used family and friends as models. This subject matter is largely a reflection of nineteenth-century cultural restrictions based on her class and gender.

The claustrophobic atmosphere suggested in this painting, and in other works dealing with similar themes such as The Cage (1885), can be seen to relate to the stifling restrictions placed on women during this period. Such social circumstances, which often disproportionately affect women, have been shown to contribute to feelings of dependency and hopelessness which can result in mental health problems.