Painting by French Impressionist Édouard Manet showing three people, including fellow Impressionist Berthe Morisot, on a balcony

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

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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.

Sponsors

This exhibition is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Presenting Sponsor
John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn
Denise Littlefield Sobel
Barbara A. Wolfe

Lead Sponsor
David Hooker Spencer
Diane B. Wilsey

Major Support
Elizabeth and Bruce Dunlevie
Robert G. and Sue Douthit O’Donnell
Yurie and Carl Pascarella

Significant Support
Dagmar Dolby
Edina Jennison
Gretchen B. Kimball
The Diana Dollar Knowles Foundation
Mary Beth and David Shimmon

Generous Support
Sandra Bessières
Romana D. Bracco
Bettina S. Bryant
Robert Lehman Foundation
Christine and Pierre Lamond
Lynn and Edward Poole
Kristina Van Prooyen
Margaret Naraghi Quattrin and Vic Quattrin
Jeffrey and Vivian Saper
Roxanne and David Soward
Laura Scher and Ian Altman

Additional support is provided by Alexandria and Dwight Ashdown, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Dr. Leontina Kelly Gallagher, Wanda Kownacki, Karen J. Kubin, Robin Rosa Laub, Leesa Miao and Martin Romo, Amelia and Ken Morris, Nancy and Alan Schatzberg, and Andrea Schultz.

Also on view