Atelier de l’artiste 

Collection de sa fille Julie Manet (1878-1966), épouse d’Ernest Rouart, Paris (selon une étiquette au dos)

Collection particulière

Vente Zürich, Koller, 9 décembre 2011, lot 3208 

Galerie Hopkins, Paris 

Acquis auprès de cette dernière par l'actuel propriétaire le 29 mars 2012

Collection Louis Grandchamp des Raux

Paris, Musée de l’Orangerie, Berthe Morisot (1841-1895), été 1941, préface de Paul Valéry, peut-être n° 244 p. 45 (selon une étiquette au dos)

Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André, Berthe Morisot, 1961, n°159 (selon une étiquette au dos)

Aix-en-Provence, Galerie Lucien Blanc, Berthe Morisot, juillet 1962, n°45 (titré Julie à la mandoline, selon une étiquette au dos)

Turin, Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Berthe Morisot, octobre 2024 - mars 2025, n°5, reproduit p.68-69

M. Angoulvent, Berthe Morisot, Editions Albert Morancé, Paris, 1933, n°372 p.136

A leading figure of the Impressionist avant-garde and a devoted mother, Berthe Morisot often drew inspiration from her immediate circle, frequently using her daughter Julie as a model.

This drawing is a preliminary study for the painting of Julie playing the mandolin that was begun in Cimiez and completed upon Morisot’s return to Paris.

Indeed it was in the Cimiez neighbourhood of Nice, where Berthe Morisot stayed on several occasions during the 1880s, that she sketched this intimate portrait of her only child born from her marriage to Eugène Manet. The feminine figure was the artist’s favourite subject, and Julie naturally became her favourite model.

In this drawing, executed in sanguine and pencil, Berthe Morisot depicts the figure seated on a chair, her profile turned to her left, the head slightly tilted and eyes closed, completely absorbed in her music. Julie is playing the mandolin, a musical pursuit that formed part of her education, while also offering her mother the calm needed for her work. Captivated by her music lesson, she is unbothered by long periods of sitting still.