Berthe Morisot was once described by the art critic Gustave Geffroy as one of les trois grandes dames of Impressionism (the other two being Marie Bracquemond and Mary Cassatt). Born in 1841 in Bourges, France, Morisot originally received painting lessons in order to make a drawing of her father for his birthday. Despite being barred from formal training, she was allowed to copy works at the Louvre. Her innate talent eventually propelled her into the highest echelons of the Parisian Impressionist circle, and her works were showcased in exhibitions alongside Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. A new exhibition at the Musée Marmottan Monet places Morisot’s oeuvre in dialogue with her artistic predecessors, specifically Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and Jean-Baptiste Perronneau. —Paulina Prosnitz