Lena Rivera
Mary Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker who became one of the most prominent members of the Impressionist group. She is best known for her artworks depicting the daily lives of women and the relationship between mothers and children. Cassatt's work combined the light colour palette and loose brushwork of Impressionism with compositions influenced by Japanese art and European Old Masters. She often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Subject matter | Almost exclusively the intimate lives of contemporary women, especially in their roles as caregivers to children |
| Style | Spontaneous, outdoors, Impressionist, loose brushwork, light color palette, pastel colors, unposed asymmetrical compositions |
| Medium | Oil on canvas, pastels, drypoint, aquatint, softground etching, engraving |
| Themes | Movement, light, design, motherhood, femininity, womanhood |
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What You'll Learn
Mothers and children
Mary Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker who lived much of her adult life in France. She is best known for her artworks depicting the daily lives of women, with a particular focus on the relationship between mothers and children.
Cassatt's work often portrayed intimate bonds between mothers and children, caught in everyday moments. Her signature style combined the light colour palette and loose brushwork of Impressionism with compositions influenced by Japanese art and European Old Masters. This versatility helped establish her professional success at a time when women artists were largely ignored.
Cassatt's paintings of mothers and children were often of friends or relatives and their children, reflecting her interest in capturing the social and private lives of women. Her work filled a societal need to idealise women's domestic roles at a time when many women were beginning to take an interest in voting rights, dress reform, higher education, and social equality.
One of Cassatt's most notable works exploring the theme of mothers and children is "Mother and Child". In this piece, Cassatt subverts the traditional Western art depiction of women admiring themselves in mirrors by having the woman and girl look into a small, circular mirror together, reflecting the child's image. This enigmatic work draws attention to the young girl's evolving feminine identity and her future womanhood under the guidance of maternal influence.
Another example of Cassatt's focus on mothers and children is seen in her series of 10 colour prints, including "Mother's Kiss" (1890-1891), which was inspired by Japanese prints and explores intimate moments between mothers and their children.
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Women's daily lives
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was an American painter and printmaker who became one of the most prominent members of the Impressionist group. She is best known for her artworks depicting the daily lives of women, particularly in their roles as caregivers and mothers.
Cassatt's work focused on the social and private lives of women, often portraying intimate bonds between mothers and children. She chose to depict women's inner lives, their domestic roles, and their relationships with their children. This was a significant departure from the traditional Western art depiction of women as objects of beauty to be admired. Cassatt's work filled a societal need to idealize women's domestic roles at a time when women were beginning to take an interest in voting rights, dress reform, higher education, and social equality.
Cassatt's paintings of women and children were often of friends or relatives, and she preferred to use unposed, asymmetrical compositions. She was innovative in her use of pastels, creating many of her most important works in this medium. Cassatt's work combined the light colour palette and loose brushwork of Impressionism with compositions influenced by Japanese art and European Old Masters. She worked in a variety of media throughout her career, including oil on canvas, drypoint, aquatint, and soft-ground etching on paper.
Cassatt's most famous works include "The Child's Bath" (1893), "Mother's Kiss" (1890-1891), "Maternal Caress" (1890-1891), "Little Girl in a Blue Armchair" (1878), and "Reading Le Figaro" (portrait of her mother) (1878). In 1891, she also completed a 12' x 58' mural titled "Modern Woman" for the Women's Building for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. The mural was designed as a triptych, with the central theme titled "Young Women Plucking the Fruits of Knowledge or Science".
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Colour and light
Mary Cassatt's paintings are known for their soft pastel colours, airy brushwork, and light colour palette. She was skilled at varying the hues of her colours, allowing her to create colourful works without compromising the overall structure of the painting. Cassatt's works often featured weak versions of colours, with the occasional strong colour to draw the eye, such as a red rose in one painting. She was also innovative in her use of pastels, creating many of her most important works in this medium.
Cassatt's work combined the light colour palette and loose brushwork of Impressionism with compositions influenced by Japanese art and European Old Masters. She adopted the practice of carrying a sketchbook with her outdoors or to the theatre, recording the scenes she saw. This new spontaneity in her work was influenced by her association with Impressionism, which led her to abandon colourful costume genre depictions in favour of scenes from contemporary life.
Cassatt's paintings often depicted the social and private lives of women, with a particular focus on the intimate bonds between mothers and children. Her work filled a societal need to idealise women's domestic roles at a time when many women were beginning to take an interest in voting rights, dress reform, higher education, and social equality. Her depictions of upper-middle-class and upper-class women were layered and complex, reflecting her own progressive attitudes.
Cassatt's use of colour and light was influenced by artists such as Edgar Degas, Gustave Courbet, and Jean-Léon Gérôme. She was also inspired by Japanese prints, which she challenged herself to imitate. Cassatt's work reflected her interest in capturing movement, light, and design in a modern sense. Her paintings often featured bright colours inspired by the outdoors, and she experimented with graphic techniques and printmaking.
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Line and form
Mary Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker who was part of the group of Impressionists working in and around Paris. She is best known for her artworks depicting the daily lives of women and the relationship between mothers and children.
Cassatt's work is characterised by her use of solid lines, which set her apart from other Impressionists, who tended to paint with broken lines and dissolved forms. She was also skilled at painting within tight value ranges while varying the hue of her colours, allowing her to create colourful works without compromising the overall structure of the painting.
Cassatt often used pastel colours within the defined edges of her drawings. She was also innovative in her use of the medium of pastels, which was influenced by her friendship with Edgar Degas. She created many of her most important works in this medium, including a series of 10 colour prints for an 1891 exhibition at the Galerie Durand-Ruel in Paris.
Cassatt's paintings often featured mirrors, which created a complex spatial and conceptual arrangement of images within images. In her work 'Mother and Child', Cassatt subverted the traditional Western art depiction of women admiring themselves in mirrors by having the woman and girl look into a small, circular mirror together to regard the child's reflection. This shifted the focus to the young girl's evolving feminine identity and her future womanhood under the guidance of a maternal influence.
Cassatt's work combined the light colour palette and loose brushwork of Impressionism with compositions influenced by Japanese art and European Old Masters. She worked in a variety of media throughout her career, including oil on canvas, drypoint, aquatint, and soft-ground etching on paper.
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Feminine identity
Mary Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker who lived much of her adult life in France. She is known for her artworks that depict the daily lives of women, with a particular focus on the relationship between mothers and children. Cassatt's work often portrayed women in their roles as caregivers and explored the intimate bonds between mothers and their children.
One of Cassatt's most famous paintings, "Mother and Child", is an excellent example of her exploration of feminine identity. In this painting, Cassatt subverts the traditional Western art depiction of women admiring themselves in mirrors as objects of beauty. Instead, she portrays a woman and a young girl looking into a small, circular mirror together, reflecting on the child's reflection and her evolving feminine identity. This work delves into the complexities of womanhood and the influence of maternal guidance on a young girl's journey towards becoming a woman.
Cassatt's own experiences and perspectives as a woman likely influenced her artistic focus. She never married or had children, choosing instead to dedicate her life to her artistic career. This decision was not uncommon among female artists of her time, as they often had to choose between marriage and motherhood or pursuing their artistic passions. Cassatt's work reflected this tension between traditional societal expectations of women and the emerging progressive attitudes of the time.
In addition to her exploration of feminine identity, Cassatt's paintings also celebrated the accomplishments of women. For example, in 1891, she was commissioned by Chicago socialite Bertha Palmer to paint a mural for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. The mural, titled "Young Women Plucking the Fruits of Knowledge or Science", depicted a community of women apart from their relation to men, showcasing them as accomplished individuals in their own right. This mural further emphasised the evolving perception of women's roles and identities in society.
Through her artwork, Cassatt challenged societal norms and contributed to a more nuanced understanding of feminine identity. Her paintings celebrated the complexities of womanhood, the intimate bonds between mothers and children, and the accomplishments of women beyond their traditional domestic roles. Cassatt's work continues to be a subject of interest for feminist art historians, exploring the evolving nature of feminine identity through artistic expression.
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Frequently asked questions
Mary Cassatt's paintings focused on the daily lives of women, with a particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children.
Mary Cassatt was a prominent member of the Impressionist movement. She was the only American artist to exhibit with the French Impressionists in the 1870s and '80s.
Some of Mary Cassatt's notable works include "The Child's Bath" (1893), "Mother and Child", "Mother's Kiss" (1890-1891), and "The Mandolin Player" (1868).
