Mary Stevenson Cassatt (1844 –1926), one of the leading artists in the Impressionist movement of the later part of the nineteenth century, is known for her depictions of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children. After visiting a large exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e) at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in April 1890, Mary Cassatt began to experiment with different print techniques. In 1890-1891, Cassatt produced a series of ten colored drypoint and aquatint prints in open admiration of ukiyo-e prints, which became a milestone in graphic art and Impressionist printmaking. With the growing popularity of Japanese woodcuts during the 1890s, Cassatt’s relationship
According to Baxandall (1985), there is the “wrong-headed grammatical prejudice about who is the agent and who is the patient” in regard of “influence”. When one says the visual qualities of Japanese prints influenced Cassatt, it seems that one is saying, “Japanese prints” did something to Cassatt rather than Cassatt did something to “Japanese prints”. If we think of Cassatt rather than “Japanese prints” as the agent, the reaction of Cassatt to Ukiyo-e prints that she saw is not “imitation” as a passive result of the “Japanese influence”. Cassatt is actually taking a more active part. The word to replace “influence” could be “citation” instead of “imitation”. Baxandall gives a good example. Though it is widely considered Cézanne influenced Picasso, Baxandall argues the influence of Cezanne on Picasso should be seen as Picasso actively choosing to do something with the possibilities opened up by Cezanne’s art, and in the process changing our understanding of Cezanne, and of the wider history of art. Under this theory, the word “influence” blurs the differences in type of reference and takes the actively purposeful element out of Cassatt’s behavior to Japanese prints. Therefore, it is meaningless to discuss in what ways Japanese prints influenced Cassatt. Instead, we see how Cassatt took the active move on the citation of Ukiyo-e, which in turn helps to build the reputation of Japanese prints as well as
Cassatt had a powerful response to these Ukiyo-e images partly because of the identical subject matter of quotidian events of women 's daily lives. Ukiyo-e prints appealed to Cassatt also because of its linear delicacy, tonal variety, and compositional strength. Frederick A. Sweet (1966) sorts out the letters, which take in account of Cassatt’s experience with printing. In an oft-cited note to fellow painter Berthe Morisot, Cassatt expressed her excitement: "Seriously, You must not miss that. You who want to make color prints you couldn 't dream of a thing more beautiful. I dream of it and don 't think of anything else but color on copper." Cassatt had known of the prints before 1890, but the exhibition provided a new stimulus and she bought from it many examples of work by the leading Ukiyo-e masters. Cassatt then started her experiments with printing and took her own printmaking in a highly innovative direction in admiration of the Japanese
Tuele, Nicholas. British Columbia women artists, 1885-1985: an exhibition. Victoria, B.C., Canada: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1985. Print.
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.
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,
Thomas Cole was born on February 1, 1801 in Bolton, Lancashire, England. Due to financial problems his family endured, Cole, at the ripe old age of just fourteen, had to find work to assist with the family needs. He entered the work force as a textile printer and wood engraver in Philadelphia. In 1819, Cole returned to Ohio where his parents resided. Here, a portrait painter by the name of Stein, would become Cole’s primary teaching vehicle and inspiration for his oil techniques we’ve come to be familiar with. During this time, Cole was extremely impressed by what he saw in the landscapes of the New World and how different they were from the small town of England from whence he hailed. Self taught, art came naturally to Cole.
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.
...ised by the public. Her ability to show the affectionate body language between mother and child captivated its audiences. Mary Cassatt also experimented with print making and explored different patterns that made her work all the more lively. Her work with drypoint and aquatint are some of the most famous color prints in the art world today.
Mary Cassatt, an American printmaker, and painter was born in 1844 in Pennsylvania. Cassatt’s family perceived traveling as an essential part of the learning process thus she had the advantage of visiting various capitals such as Paris, London, and Berlin. Cassatt studied to become a professional artist and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She later went to study in France under Thomas, Couture, Jean-Leon Gerome, and others. She spent a significant part of her adult life in France. When in France, she initially befriended Edgar Degas, a famous French artist, and later her works were exhibited among other impressionists. Afterward, Cassatt admired artists that had the ability to independently unveil their artwork and did not
The 19th century woodblock artist, Utamaro, has many examples of these types of prints of both courtesans and geishas. For example, an interesting series of Utamaro’s prints include his “Five Kinds of Ink from the Northern Provinces” created in 1790. These prints include different ranks of women working as courtesans and range from depicting upper class to lower class courtesans. The images of the higher-ranking courtesans are shown in a position of education, depicted as beautiful, classy women, and are representative of a type of courtesan you would prefer to purchase as a client. Where as the prints of the lower class courtesans are less glamorous and instead presented in a way for people to view the not attractive lifestyles of these women. Utamaro may have had a sense of empathy for these lower-class women and may of represented them in this way because he wanted to educate people about these women’s lives or to educate clients on what type of courtesan they were purchasing. Additionally Utamaro created many prints of different ranking geishas and created scenes capturing the daily lives of all these kinds of different girls. His work, portrays these women in an idealized forms; they were tall, slender, elegant women, with dark, beautiful hair, dark, raised eyebrows, rounded faces, white skin, and had tiny
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.
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
Throughout the known history the artists have been striving to capture the world around them in an attempt to document the contemporary events and their surroundings or present their own or their client’s vision or an interpretation of a concept that would illustrate, describe or help visualize an idea. The description of the resulting art is often classifies the work as belonging to a specific style thus illustrating a set of common traits between the artifacts belonging to the same period. Two of these classifications are the Realist and the Impressionist movements.
Trans. By Donald Richie. Yale University Press, 1972. Kincaid, Mrs. Paul, Japanese Garden and Floral Art. New York: Hearthside Press, Inc., 1966.
Jonathan Lethem analyzes the way that various artists across all mediums rip off other artists in his essay “The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism”. In his essay, Lethem defines “plagiarism” to mean artists using other artist’s work through “mimicry, quotation, [or] allusion” (61). Rather than word for word copy and pasting of someone’s work, the word plagiarism will be used to describe the use of someone’s work as inspiration for other art in this essay. Lethem does not view this form of plagiarism as a heinous crime, rather, a “sine quo non of the creative act” and in fact, a badge of honor for the one getting “plagiarized” (61). In other words, it’s impossible to be creative without quoting and alluding to people and their works. Using an example of an Iranian filmmaker, Dariush Mehrjui, who used J.D. Salinger's work as a springboard for his work, Lethem asserts the filmmaker “had paid [Salinger] homage” by using it and in doing so, a...
The Influence of The Impressionist Era Impressionism, one of the later eras in classical music composition. An era where emotions are expressed vividly while still following musical structure, where music caused much political controversy, and where France became known for its musical talent. In this essay you will read of how impressionism set a lasting mark in musical and national histories, and how it influenced modern music as we know it. The Impressionist Era all started with Claude Debussy, being tired of the formed classical structure, and the romantic informality.
... the definition derived by each philosopher is profoundly different. In order to construct a coherent, wide-ranging philosophy, art and its impact on society must be reckoned with, whether as an imitation of a system far removed or a system in our midst. The process of imitation is used in both cases to promote the particular version of reality espoused by each man. While such a study is beneficial in tracing the philosophical conflict regarding the usage and importance of imitation in art, what is most apparent, perhaps, is the discovery that language itself is an imperfect imitation of meaning, capable of fostering such conflicts.