Deeply black eyes Symbolism
Deeply black eyes are a deliberate painterly device that concentrates the viewer’s attention and sharpens the sitter’s gaze. By muting internal highlights and pushing the eyes toward an inky tone, they create a strong focal point and stark contrast with surrounding flesh and costume. In this use, the effect is constructed emphasis rather than naturalistic description.
Deeply black eyes in Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets
Édouard Manet’s Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets (1872) exemplifies the device. Composed as a symphony in black, where hat, scarf, and coat merge into a single dark silhouette, the eyes are painted strikingly black to serve as the portrait’s emphatic focus. Side‑light chisels the face from a cool, silvery ground, so the dark eyes read with heightened clarity and direct the viewer’s look. This intensified gaze anchors the composition and holds its refined restraint in tension with the tiny violet knot, whose discreet tenderness remains secondary to the established focal point.
