Manet & Morisot

This is the first major exhibition dedicated to the artistic exchange between French Impressionists Édouard Manet (1832-1883) and Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). Manet was the era's great pioneer of modern painting, and Morisot, the only woman to exhibit under her own name in the original Impressionist group. Unfolding over a period of 15 years (1868-1883), this exhibition traces the evolution of a friendship between two groundbreaking artists. The story of their relationship has often been told through Manet's early portraits of Morisot, with Morisot's own work treated as an offshoot of Manet's. Recent scholarship reveals that, by the final years of his life, Manet increasingly followed Morisot's example -- her choice of subjects and colors, and even her rapid, fluttering brushstrokes. Rich in new research, the exhibition recasts this celebrated artistic friendship -- and, by extension, the story of modern art -- in a fresh light.


Image Credit: Edouard Manet, The Balcony (detail), 1868-1869. Oil on canvas, 66 15/16 x 49 3/16 in. (170 x 125 cm). Musée d'Orsay, bequest Gustave Caillebotte, 1894 © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d'Orsay) / Sylvie Chan-Liat