Summer's Day (A Summer Moment / On the Lake)

In Paris's Bois de Boulogne, where sunlight sparkles, two elegant women relax on a small boat. It's a fresh summer scene, where one can almost hear the shimmering of the dazzling water surface and the rustling of the trees.

However, behind this happy and peaceful everyday scene, lay Morisot's earnest struggles as both a mother and a painter.

The year before this painting was created, she had just given birth to her long-awaited first child, her daughter Julie. After childbirth and a long period indoors, she was eager to resume outdoor painting, but she was reluctant to leave her young child with a wet nurse for extended periods.