Mother and child

Young Mother Sewing, 1900
Mary Cassatt (American, 1844–1926)
Oil on canvas
36 3/8 x 29 in.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image: Heilbrunn Timeline

I was reminded of Mary Cassatt's birthday by an Art of the Day reader along with a suggestion to celebrate that with a week of women artists. I'm going to try to include some good links to more women artists in related subject areas. So, we start the week off (a little late!) with Mary Cassatt.

An American expatriate, Cassatt spent most of her adult life in France where she met Edgar Degas and eventually exhibited with the Impressionists which influenced her work. Cassatt chose her vocation, entering art school at the age of 15. With only minor support from family she stayed focused on the artistic life, believing that her career was not compatible with family life (which unfortunately was so often the case). Cassatt's popularity lies in her extensive focus on the subject of mother and child. I'm drawn by this particular work due to the little girl's gaze at the viewer.

Women Artists in Nineteenth-Century France

Virgin & Child

Virgin & Child with Angels, 1455
Marco di Antonio (known as Marco Zoppo) 1433-1478
Canvas; H. 89.2 cm; W. 72.5 cm
Musee du Louvre, Paris

With the intentions of sharing a Mantegna with you today because of a show currently at the Louvre in Paris, I was wandering around the exhibition website discovered this work by Marco Zoppo. This is my first introduction to the artist who was a contemporary of Mantegna and for a time worked in Padua, Italy, as Mantegna did. He was from Bologna where after being rejected by his painting master he returned to produce most of his paintings. I was particularly drawn by the detail and attention paid to the putti (the angels) as well as the books in the foreground.

Doing a quick search of Marco Zoppo, I don't find much other than opportunities to purchase oil reproductions of this work. A blog dedicated to sharing lesser known, or forgotten artist's pointed him out, but only delved into basic biographical information. Unfortunately I must admit that my knowledge of Renaissance art, while forged through intro art history courses (taken and as a grad asst.), I only seem to have recovered the basics lately. This is surely the fault of my leanings toward Modern and contemporary art over the years but I am working on broadening my range and am trying not to lean too heavily on what I know for this blog. Such babbling for a Sunday!