Mary Cassatt

 

I am straying from the architects/designers to highlight another strong woman in history, Mary Cassatt.  I don't know much about this talented painter except that she created her own style while socializing with the great Impressionist and male counterparts, Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh and Pissaro.  I like to envision Cassatt talking "shop" with the male artists at their local Parisian cafes.  At least, that's the image I retained from reading Irving Stone's bio-novels about Vincent Van Gogh and Camille Pissaro.  (Why didn't he write a book about her life?)

I think any woman who made strides in self expression and career advancement deserves serious recognition.  She was extremely talented and perservered in the male art world.  Now who couldn't find inspiration in that?

Comments

[Michele]

did you watch the Impressionists mini-series on PBS last year? Worth watching if you get a chance....

[Louise Feddema]

Love this artist -- I teach an appreciation class for seniors in my area -- the curriculum can be tough sometimes. One student told me that he always can identify Mary Cassatt - the majority of her paintings depict a mother and child. MC= mother and child MC=Mary Cassatt. When one gets a better 'eye' you can usually identify her work because of her bold use of white - her accurate depictions of people and clothing -- with bold, 'casual' slabs of color.
As a woman she had an advantage over the male artists in one way. 'Nice' women would not pose for an artist, they surely would not allow a man to watch her do motherly or ordinary duties. Nor would they let artists just sketch or paint their children. Mary was just one of them.