Impression: Morisot

From 11th October 2024 to 23rd February 2025 in Genoa: “Impression, Morisot” will be the first major exhibition in Italy dedicated to the painter of light, Berthe Morisot.

A captivating exhibition is being held at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa from 11th October 2024 to 23rd February 2025. Over 80 works will be brought together in the historic rooms of the Doge’s Apartment. Through photographic and archival documents, the exhibition traces the career and private life of the “painter of light,” guided by the curatorial expertise of Marianne Mathieu, one of the foremost experts on Morisot’s work.

The New Highlights of the Exhibition

The event presents some scientific innovations related to Morisot’s stays on the Riviera and their influence on her work. It forms part of the official celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Impressionism. Through more than 80 works, along with photographic and archival documents, the exhibition will retrace the artist’s entire career and private life, revealing previously unseen aspects. Morisot shared her personal, family, and professional journey not only with the greatest artists of her time but also with intellectual figures such as Stéphane Mallarmé and Emile Zola.

Impression, Morisot, 1874

Tired of adhering to the strict rules of the Academy, a group of young artists organised an exhibition in Nadar’s photography studio in Paris on 15th April 1874. The paintings of Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, and Paul Cézanne—alongside works by 24 other artists rejected by the official Salon—caused a sensation. The Parisian critics, unable to grasp the innovative style that would come to be known worldwide as Impressionism, were scandalised. Among these dissidents was Berthe Morisot (Bourges, 1841 – Paris, 1895), the only woman painter among the founders of the movement.

A key figure in the nouvelle peinture (new painting)

Berthe Morisot played a crucial role in establishing the new Impressionist style, participating in seven of the eight exhibitions held between 1874 and 1886 (missing only one in 1879 due to the birth of her daughter). Although she was married to Eugène Manet—Édouard Manet’s brother—Berthe pursued her painting career independently, gaining recognition for her delicate brushwork and luminous colours. Now, in the year marking the 150th anniversary of Impressionism, Palazzo Ducale.