Jeanne Pontillon

1887–1895

Squaring and tracing paper: the synthesis of her last years

Morisot starts to use squaring and tracing paper to transcribe her drawings exactly onto the canvas, which lets her build compositions with more complicated interaction between figures. Her late works are distinctive for their synthesis of the Impressionist touch with broad strokes and light reflections and the graphic approach of clear lines.

1892

The first solo exhibition

In 1892, after almost two decades of showing in group exhibitions, Morisot's first solo exhibition is held.

1892

Her husband Eugène Manet dies

In 1892 Morisot's husband, the painter Eugène Manet (1833–1892), dies.

1894

Geffroy calls her one of the “grandes dames”

In 1894 the critic Gustave Geffroy describes Morisot as one of the “three great ladies” of Impressionism, alongside Marie Bracquemond and Mary Cassatt.

1 March 1895

A farewell letter to her daughter

Having caught pneumonia while nursing her daughter Julie through the same illness, Morisot dies the day after writing her a letter: she says she will love her still when dead, begs her not to cry, and tells her to work and stay as good as she has always been. Sixteen-year-old Julie is left an orphan.

2 March 1895

Died