Manet & Morisot: Dialogues of an Artistic Friendship

Manet & Morisot is the first major exhibition dedicated to the remarkable artistic exchange between Édouard Manet, often hailed as the father of modern painting, and Berthe Morisot, the only woman among the founding members of the Impressionist movement. Between 1868 and 1883, their connection blossomed into one of the closest and most dynamic relationships within the Impressionist circle—marked by collaboration, mutual admiration, and a touch of rivalry.

Bringing together 36 paintings and 6 drawings and prints from museums and private collections across the United States and Europe, the exhibition traces the evolution of this singular bond. Visitors are welcomed with Manet’s compelling portraits of Morisot, works that reveal the depth of their personal and professional rapport.

The exhibition continues with luminous plein-air beach and garden scenes, where one can clearly observe how Manet drew motifs and compositional ideas directly from Morisot’s innovations. Later galleries juxtapose their portraits of fashionable Parisian women from the 1880s, highlighting two distinct perspectives: Manet’s shaped by fascination and desire, and Morisot’s by lived experience and interiority.

Organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art, this exhibition offers a rare and illuminating journey into the creative dialogue between two groundbreaking figures whose influence continues to shape modern art.