Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was a founding member of the Impressionist group and defying social norms she became one of the movement’s most influential figures. Known for her depictions of contemporary life and intimate domestic scenes her work offers glimpses into women’s private spaces, subtly conveying feeling and emotion.

This new exhibition at the Musée Marmottan, Paris, was first held at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London (31 March - 10 September 2023). It brings together 30 important works from international collections to reveal the artist as a trailblazer of Impressionism. Drawing on new research and unpublished archival material for the first time it also reveals her engagement with 18th century French and English art and culture as a source of inspiration, and includes works by these earlier artists for comparison. We learn, for example, that Morisot copied works by François Boucher and experimented with red chalk, a technique closely associated with Rococo drawing. Uniquely amongst her peers, she was passionate about English painters such as Thomas Gainsborough.

Highlights of the show include Eugène Manet on the Isle of Wight (1875), painted while Morisot was on honeymoon in England, and her striking Self-Portrait (1885), which will appear alongside Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s Young Woman (c.1769) from Dulwich Picture Gallery’s collection.