Julie Manet and her Greyhound, Laertes

Painted in 1893 and now in the Musée Marmottan Monet, this canvas shows Julie Manet — Morisot's daughter, then fifteen — with her Italian greyhound Laertes. Julie, born 1878, kept a famous journal and later became an important steward of the Impressionist legacy as a grown woman. Morisot depicted her daughter throughout childhood and adolescence, and this near-final portrait of the girl on the edge of womanhood, accompanied by her elegant dog, captures a particular transitional quality. The Marmottan holds the largest Morisot collection in the world.

The slender greyhound and the young woman create a vertical pairing of lithe forms, both rendered with Morisot's late loose handling. The dog's smooth coat is evoked with long, flowing strokes in warm greys and whites that echo the handling of Julie's dress. The composition is elegant and lightly formal.