Édouard Manet (1832–1883) was a pioneer of modern painting, and Berthe Morisot (1841–1895) was the sole female founding member of the Impressionist group. To each other, they were colleagues, friends, and—following Morisot’s marriage to Manet’s brother—family. Unfolding over a period of fifteen years, theirs was arguably the closest relationship between any two members of the Impressionist circle. Through collaboration, competition, and mutual collecting, each influenced the other’s work and, in the process, changed the course of modern art.
 
Published on the occasion of the exhibition Manet & Morisot, held at the Legion of Honor from October 11, 2025 to March 1, 2026, this invaluable volume looks anew at a relationship that has most often been told through Manet’s magnificent portraits of Morisot—but the two artists’ connection was more than one between painter and muse. Exploring pairs and groups of related works, Manet & Morisot reveals that, while Morisot looked to Manet for inspiration during her early career, as Morisot’s work became more daring and garnered widespread acclaim, Manet began to follow her example, emulating her choice of subjects, her high-keyed colors, even her rapid, fluttering brushstrokes. Illustrated essays and entries challenge gendered perspectives in the Manet literature, while correspondence and a technical study invite readers into the two artists’ shared social circle and contrasting studio practices.

Contributors

Emily A. Beeny is chief curator of the Legion of Honor and Barbara A. Wolfe Curator in Charge of European Paintings at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Heather Lemonedes Brown is Paul J. and Edith Ingalls Vignos Jr. Curator of Modern European Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Anne Higonnet is Barbara Novak Professor of Art History at Barnard College, Columbia University, New York.

Kimberly A. Jones is curator of nineteenth-century French paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Nicole R. Myers is chief curatorial and research officer and Barbara Thomas Lemmon Senior Curator of European Art at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Sylvie Patry is senior curator at the Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris.

Isolde Pludermacher is senior curator for painting at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Samuel Rodary is an independent art historian.