See ‘Manet & Morisot’ in Cleveland

The woman sits with her head turned slightly as she gazes out from the canvas. Soft browns blur into the background, while light and dark hues collide in her coat and hat. Famed 19th-century painter Édouard Manet created the painting, titled “Berthe Morisot with a Muff.” What viewers may not realize is the subject of the portrait was an artist in her own right.

Such layers of identity anchor “Manet & Morisot,” which runs March 29 through July 5 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Featuring more than 40 works, it marks the first major exhibition that explores how the artists’ relationship evolved over time through collaboration, competition and familial connection.

Manet acted as a creative mentor to Morisot, who frequently modeled for him. Morisot eventually married Manet’s brother, Eugene, further deepening the pair’s relationship. The layout of the exhibition reinforces this idea of connection by inviting viewers to directly compare composition and technique and examine the ways in which the pair influenced and contrasted each other. Visitors first encounter portraits of Morisot created by Manet before moving through works by both paired by subject, from seascapes to depictions of domestic life.

“You’ll kind of get to see her in that first gallery through his eyes,” says Heather Lemonedes Brown, curator of modern European art and hosting curator for the exhibition. “Then the show goes on. You start to see how they have a dialogue in their art. He influencing her, her influencing him — in subject matter and in style.”

Notable comparisons include a series of four paintings depicting the seasons: summer and winter painted by Morisot and fall and spring created in response by Manet, as well as two portraits of Morisot’s daughter, Julie. In Manet’s version, she appears posed, while in Morisot’s, she is absorbed in play.

The exhibition concludes with Morisot’s 1885 self-portrait, painted near the end of her life and following Manet’s death. She is depicted with her artist’s palette in hand, asserting her identity as a professional artist.

“I hope that the exhibit makes people think about friendship and how friendships can evolve over time,” Brown says, “how they’re always kind of ebbing and flowing.”

11150 East Blvd., Cleveland, 44106, 216/421-7350, clevelandart.org

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