I recently went to the DeYoung Museum for the Impressionist exhibit. The paintings were exquisite, as expected, but what was shocking was only one female artist out of all the others shown, were by male artists. It parallels with what I have been learning in class, that women artist were completely underrepresented and suppressed because of their gender. I will be describing a brief synopsis about Mary Cassatt’s life. Then I will be talking about the subject of the woman, her mother, in the painting. And finally, what caught my attention to Mary Cassatt’s, Mrs. Robert S. Cassatt, the Artist’s Mother painting, done in 1889, and my art analysis of her piece. Mary Cassatt was born in 1844 in what was then Pennsylvania, but now part of Pittsburg in a desirable middle class home. She always loved art and travel and was encouraged by her parents, which was uncommon, from the very beginning. After pursuing an education in art she also taught herself a lot because school was not as good for women as they were for men. While in Paris in the 1870’s was when she became more noticed as an artist and started her Impressionism career. Edgar Degas spotted her talent and offered her to show at a private …show more content…
Robert S. Cassatt, the Artist’s Mother, by Mary Cassatt, was how smooth and effortlessness her masterpiece seemed, and besides the fact it was sadly, the only woman artist represented throughout the Impressionist exhibit. And how big in size this piece was and even more so in person. Mary use of soft pastel colors depicting her mother seated in a natural position was charming. She was the focus, fully clothed, not naked and sexualized. When one looks closely at the painting, one can see each stroke on top of strokes to create such a masterpiece. Since Cassatt was an Impressionist, she used the light, the pastel hues, the blurred forms, and the quick and short brushstrokes that which define this form of
An influential American printmaker and painter as she was known for impressionist style in the 1880s, which reflected her ideas of the modern women and created artwork that displayed the maternal embrace between women and children; Mary Cassatt was truly the renowned artist in the 19th century. Cassatt exhibited her work regularly in Pennsylvania where she was born and raised in 1844. However, she spent most of her life in France where she was discovered by her mentor Edgar Degas who was the very person that gave her the opportunity that soon made one of the only American female Impressionist in Paris. An exhibition of Japanese woodblock Cassatt attends in Paris inspired her as she took upon creating a piece called, “Maternal Caress” (1890-91), a print of mother captured in a tender moment where she caress her child in an experimental dry-point etching by the same artist who never bared a child her entire life. Cassatt began to specialize in the portrayal of children with mother and was considered to be one of the greatest interpreters in the late 1800s.
Prior to the 20th century, female artists were the minority members of the art world (Montfort). They lacked formal training and therefore were not taken seriously. If they did paint, it was generally assumed they had a relative who was a relatively well known male painter. Women usually worked with still lifes and miniatures which were the “lowest” in the hierarchy of genres, bible scenes, history, and mythological paintings being at the top (Montfort). To be able to paint the more respected genres, one had to have experience studying anatomy and drawing the male nude, both activities considered t...
Whitney Chadwick, Women, Art, and Society 3rd ed. (NY: Thames & Hudson world of art, 2002), 153-160.
The Harlem Renaissance, a time of global appreciation for the black culture, was a door opening for African American women. Until then, African Americans, let alone African American women, were neither respected nor recognized in the artistic world. During this time of this New Negro Movement, women sculptors were able to connect their heritages with the present issues in America. There is an abundance of culture and history to be learned from these sculptures because the artists creatively intertwine both. Meta Warrick Fuller and Edmonia Lewis, two of the most popular sculptors of this time, were able to reflect their native heritages and the dynamics of society through their artwork.
When a young toddler begins to speak, naming things they see around them, it is because they saw their parents do it. As they grow into a teenagers, they give names to things based on what they have heard from their friends and social media. This pattern carries into adulthood. The way we identify things reflects the progression of understanding art featuring woman, as explored in John Berger’s Ways of Seeing. He presents the idea in chapter three that woman were portrayed in art since the beginning and how it transcends to modern times. His main points surround the portrayal of woman throughout the ages and what effects it has had on our view of women not only paintings, but as humans in society. The ideas of women are contradictory because it is facilitated by men and the way they see women. Berger talks about this concept, and much more in chapter three of Ways of Seeing.
Mary Cassatt is one of the most famous female figures in the art world and aided in the popularization of Impressionism. Her work was simple yet impactful, and left its viewers wanting more. The main focus in most of her works was of mother and child or of women doing simple daily tasks. Her broken brush strokes and bright color palettes made her pieces pleasant and full of life. Though her work was not at first accepted, she kept painting and worked hard to make a name for herself and to change the art world into something more diverse and accepting.
Therefore, she forms a complicated, personal relationship with children. Why does she so obsess with motherhood, while she does not even have one child? In a certain degree, I think children are certain forms of a weapon for Mary Cassatt to substantiate her uncompromising feminism. On the other hand, concerning her superior social position and biological sex, it might easier for her to observe motherhood, to reproduce the sincere motherhood. However, she has not been male, and then she is unable to experience another kind of connection between a father and a son as well. Even though she can imagine that by herself, it would never be exactly the same. Thus, it would probably be difficult for her and any other females, to reproduce this different relationship whereby it explain the awkwardness in the portrait she makes for her brother and
After finishing her American schooling, Cassatt used her friends and family as live models to draw and paint, and had an increasing fascination with going to museums and copying the items on display. It should be mentioned that a significant portion of her life in America is happening at the same time as the Civil War. As the war drew to a close in 1865, Cassatt knew the next important step for any young emerging artist in the 19th century: going abroad. Going once again against her parents’ wishes, Cassatt planned to move to Europe and become a full-fledged artist at the tender age of twenty-one. Her father is quoted as saying that he “would almost rather see her dead than have her go to Europe by herself to become an artist.” Her parents’ hesitation no doubt stemmed from the loss of their beloved child Robbie. Cassatt was persistent however, and seeing her friends (including Eliza) making their own endeavors to Europe only added to her determination. It is said that Cassatt’s move irreparably shook the close relationship she had with her father, but nonetheless, she and her mother traveled to Paris in December of
Mary Cassatt was most widely known for her impressionist pieces that depicted mother (or nanny) and child. She was faced with many struggles throughout her life and received much criticism, even after her death in 1926. She found it difficult to receive appropriate recognition for her pieces during her early career. Many were unaccepted by the Salon. Cassatt lived for many years in France after her successful career, which ended abruptly when she went blind. Her talent placed her pieces in many famous museums throughout the world and landed her name among the famous artists of her time. As well as paving the way for powerful women, like herself. She lived during a time of suffragettes searching for equality.
Edna seeks occupational freedom in art, but lacks sufficient courage to become a true artist. As Edna awakens to her selfhood and sensuality, she also awakens to art. Originally, Edna “dabbled” with sketching “in an unprofessional way” (Chopin 543). She could only imitate, although poorly (Dyer 89). She attempts to sketch Adèle Ratignolle, but the picture “bore no resemblance” to its subject. After her awakening experience in Grand Isle, Edna begins to view her art as an occupation (Dyer 85). She tells Mademoiselle Reisz that she is “becoming an artist” (Chopin 584). Women traditionally viewed art as a hobby, but to Edna, it was much more important than that. Painting symbolizes Edna’s independence; through art, she breaks free from her society’s mold.
Aristotle once claimed that, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Artists, such as Louise-Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun and Mary Cassatt, captured not only the way things physically appeared on the outside, but also the emotions that were transpiring on the inside. A part no always visible to the viewer. While both artists, Le Brun and Cassatt, worked within the perimeters of their artistic cultures --the 18th century in which female artists were excluded and the 19th century, in which women were artistically limited-- they were able to capture the loving relationship between mother and child, but in works such as Marie Antoinette and Her Children and Mother Nursing her Child 1898,
Working at her father’s clothing shop, she became very knowledgeable about expensive textiles and embellishments, which were captured in her works later in career. She was able to capture the beauty and lavishness of fabrics in portraits of aristocratic women.
One of the most powerful nuances of any writing is the dialogue within the story. In literature, it is all too often that characters live only in the jaded voice of the author and never truly develop as their own, or are not strongly opinionated in a manner which contrasts the opinions of the writer. It is also unfortunately true that the women depicted in most male-authored literature do not often sound realistic, or how most women one would speak to in the course of the day tend to sound. All too often, women are depicted on a lower level of speech than men. For instance, Dickens and Arthur Miller both apparently subscribed to this notion, as the women in their stories were usually more passive, and not as elaborate as men in their speech, however, James Joyce did not see things in the same light. The most developed female character in Joyces A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, is one who speaks with dignity, passion, and the female tact which is all too often ignored in the characters of women. Joyce's Dante Riordan's words and thoughts are true to those of literate twentieth century women.
Women have played many roles in societies since the dawn of time ever changing with time and from society to society. Each society hold a special place and role for women good and bad. Freedoms and equality of women has varied from opression to freedom. I will discuss some specific pieces of art and explain how the art shows the role of women in a specific society. I will tell you of their paril and achivements through time. Giving you a glimpse into the lives of women and how they were percieved by males and society. Some have have reveared women and some have disrespected them but through it all women have found a way to perservear. Women hold a place in history from culture to culture, and we see this in many pieces of art. From the art we can have a glimpse into a culture view of women and how they were treated in society.
Rossetti shows us the woman being painted as many different things. Although she is just a painting, the woman symbolizes how the artist views women in real life: as objects. Irony is used when the woman is painted as “a queen”(5). She is put on a pedestal in a position of power, yet she is only described as being “in [an] opal or ruby dress”(5), cementing her role as an ornament. The ruby symbolizes passion and perhaps promiscuity. Opal is a white stone that reflects many colors. White symbolizes purity; while the different colors reflected symbolize how her meaning can change, and how the artist controls her identity and can make her fit any persona he desires. The woman is also depicted as a “nameless girl”(6), indicating her identity is not important to the artist. It also shows that he does not personally know the women he’s painting, but only their looks, affirming that he bases their value off of their appearances. Lastly, the artist portrays a woman as “a saint [and] an angel”(7) and compares her to the “moon”(11), an allusion to Artemis, the goddess of virginity. In this painting, she is established as a pure virgin, which was a requirement of the time period Rossetti lived in. However, because it is one of the fantasies the artist creates, and the poem antagonizes him, this line also expresses the idea that a woman’s purity should not define her. He makes the innocent virgin and the licentious queen the only ways women can be viewed. Yet, they are the same to him. Lacking depth, their physical description is the only thing giving them any meaning. Rossetti describing the portraits conveys the idea that no matter the position in society; or what their actual personalities are like, women are just blank canvases for men to project their fantasies onto. Uninterested in a real person, the artist worships the idea of a