Sincerity, Transience, and the Domestic Focus of Berthe Morisot's Art. Sebastian Smee discusses how the Impressionists' defining characteristic was plein air painting—painting outside directly in front of the subject. Berthe Morisot was highly innovative, concentrating on women at home doing ordinary, domestic activities. Her work was quick, often using only a few brushstrokes, conveying the impression of a moment glimpsed. Morisot was one of the most radical Impressionists in her style, frequently leaving large parts of the canvas bare to emphasize the feeling of something "quickly caught as if on the fly." Smee identifies her as a "real poet" of fugitive effects and threshold states, often painting adolescent girls at the "cusp of adulthood." Her acute awareness of life's transience and fragility was evident in her style.