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

Bath Beach

Bath Beach: a sketch (Bensonhurst), ca. 1887
William Merritt Chase
1961.5.24 Parrish Art Museum
Image courtesy of Parrish Art Museum (see more works by Chase by clicking here and on the artist's name)

A painting that caught my eye as I flipped through a volume of the catalogue raisonne of American Impressionist, William Merritt Chase. I may have mentioned this before, but my American Art history knowledge is not remotely up to par, and while I know of Chase, I don't think I could have connected him directly with his painting until now (time spent merging records ends up equaling time looking through books :). His work is quite pretty (one of the reasons I shied away from American art and Impressionism so long is that I didn't see much else in it than that) but I seem to be attracted more to the works that have stronger, richer color, I'm a sucker for green grass, though not necessarily bright (see Feeding the Pigeons, love it) color. The perspective of Bath Beach also draws my attention, while we cannot see any detail in the figures (his wife and daughter) they remain a focus of attention as the promenade path leads our eye to them, the grass and water frame them, the man on the bench is blurred the trees hover over them and the other significant object is in close proximity to them (the canon), keeping our attention centered.

La Coiffure

Edgar Degas (183401917)
Combing the Hair ('La Coiffure') ca. 1896
Oil on canvas
114.3 x 146.7 cm.
National Gallery, London.

One of my favorite paintings in the National Gallery. I think the initial pull was the monochromatic color. Despite the limited color palette (though there exists a wonderful red palette), the painting stands out. The pedestrian subject matter creates a focus on the detail.

Degas is most well-known for his paintings of dancers, subject matter which has never particularly appealed to me. I prefer these simple interior scenes, reminding me of Vuillard (yet his interiors have a greater focus on pattern). I find it fascinating that the maid has the same color hair as the girl who's hair she combs. It creates an affinity between the women, one that most likely doesn't actually exist outside of the scene Degas presents to us.

The National Gallery is collaborating with the London Film School on a project (Transcriptions) in which the students choose a work in the gallery as inspiration for a short film piece. Here is Mistress inspired by La Coiffure.

Rouen

The Portal of Rouen Cathedral, 1894
Claude Monet
Image and location: Getty Center Los Angeles

One of over 30 paintings of the Rouen Cathedral
in Rouen, France, the series of the Rouen Cathedral is a favorite of mine. I was never a fan of Monet. Looking at his work as an introduction to Impressionism I found his paintings, in the mind of a teenager, pretty boring. I focused on the late 19th century for a lecture when I was a TA in grad school and as a result my thoughts have shifted dramatically. While I am still not particularly interested in the most famous of Monet's works such as his water lilies (maybe it is the subject matter) much of his other work is fascinating to me.

His focus on one subject throughout the varying lights of day is beautiful and smart. Monet positioned himself in a studio across the street working through 2 different periods of time over the course of 2 years, 1892-93. Most of the paintings are dated 1894 due to Monet returning to his regular studio in order to complete the paintings. He worked from life but reworked the paintings in order to get the full affects he wanted. I've always been a fan of architecture in painting, and the range of mood expressed through one building (and one view) is wonderful.

Solitary Impressionism

Caillebotte, Gustave
Young Man at His Window
1875
Oil on canvas
117 x 82 cm
Private collection

I wrote this up last night and forgot to post it! Sorry its late!

I am not exactly sure why I chose this particular work. Once again, my choice of artist stems from exposure to another exhibition catalog. This time a monograph on the artist Gustave Caillebotte, who I readily admit never hearing of before, though I do recognize one work so far.

Associated with the Impressionists (Monet, Degas, etc.) he spent much of his time as a rich young collector of the work of his colleagues, helping to market their work. His own work is debated about. While I was never originally a fan of work of the late 19th century, the random choosing of that period to cover for my first lecture to an auditorium undergraduates, was the start of a never before seen appreciation and eventual interest in the period. In addition to all kinds of awesomeness that was occuring at the end of the 19th c. Caillebotte covered a lot of ground in his work, from still lifes and interior scenes to urban Paris and boating scenes (he was an accomplished boat designer as well). While the boating and seafaring scenes didn't do much to peak my interest (the focus of the catalog) I decided to do some more investigating and found myself drawn to some of his other works

What do I love about today's work? I love that you can't see the young man's face, the care that is taken in the detail of the vertical bits on the railing (does anyone know what these are called?), the only color coming from the lower right hand of the painting in the chair and rug, that the man's right leg is slightly back as if he is going to step away from the window yet is left foot is planted and his face is set on the bright day outside...

This excerpt by Kirk Varnedoe (Gustave Caillebote 2000) brings up a lot of the reasons for the difficulty there has been placing Caillebotte in the history of art. An artist's place in history is a unique topic, depending so much on the selling of work as well as the passing on of appreciation. Artists and writers roles shift in and out throughout our reading of history. Current culture and climates affect how we perceive one's art today, yesterday and tomorrow. Guess where I got this image?!