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work of the month

Mary Cassatt (American, 1844-1926)
The Family, 1892
Oil on Canvas, 32-1/4 x 26 inches
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

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Casting aside the traditional female roles of marriage and motherhood in 19th-century Victorian society, Mary Cassatt carved a unique place for herself among an independent group of European artists -- including Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Claude Monet. During a time when women had few rights and professional opportunities, how did she arrive at such success? What prompted her to leave America ultimately as an expatriate to embrace the European art world? What master craftsmen and personal experiences influenced her work? And, how does The Family fit into the grand scheme of her long career? Considering these questions unveils layers of meaning in Cassatt's work that are as deep as her color palate is vibrant.

Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania the daughter of a well-to-do investment banker, Mary Cassatt decided to become an artist during a family tour through Europe (1851-55). A few obstacles stood in the way of this dream at first- principally her parents' disapproval of such a career choice. After much hesitation, Cassatt's father finally consented to her enrollment at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in1860. But, in order to become a master painter, Cassatt knew Europe held her future.

"For a woman artist interested only in achieving amateur status, the Academy's pedagogical program was sufficient," according to art historian Andrew J. Walker. "Cassatt's ambitions, however, were much greater; She wanted to be a professional, respected for her artistic skill, and not confined by the perceived limitations of her gender. Like her male counterparts, she understood that, in order to become a professional, even those trained at what was then a leading art academy had to travel to Europe, and particularly to Paris, where a treasure-trove of art masterpieces waited to be studied and copied" (Walker 21).

So, in 1865 Cassatt journeyed to France and settled in Paris under the tutelage of Jean L¹on G¹rÈme. She spent hours in the Mus¹e du Louvre copying classical works, and she traveled throughout Europe seeking artistic instruction. Cassatt studied and copied the works of the Old Masters in Spain, Italy, and Belgium, and she regularly submitted paintings to the Paris Salon.

In the latter half of the 19th century, a large percentage of society portraitists were women. But from this burgeoning group of female artists, few received wide recognition. "Cassatt departed from this largely anonymous community of women artists when in 1877 Edgar Degas invited her to exhibit with the independent artists who came to be known as the Impressionists," according to art historian Harriet K. Stratis. While most female artists of the period remained in obscurity, she and Berthe Morisot (also a member of the Impressionist group) achieved unique professional acknowledgement (Stratis 213).

Cassatt's alignment with Degas introduced her to new painting methods and materials, and gained her access to a circle of like-minded artists. She declared that her affiliation with the Impressionist independents freed her from the critical judgment of the Salon, and allowed her to focus on learning from her "true masters" -- Courbet, Degas and Manet. Compare Degas' Dancer with Bouquets with Cassatt's work. How are they similar or different in terms of composition and color scheme?

"Cassatt always acknowledged the crucial role Degas played in her career," said Stratis. "During the late 1870s and early 1880s, her art was most closely tied to his methods and materials. Works by Degas and Cassatt executed in varied media on both paper and fabric supports point to a time of intense collaboration, a constant dialogue between two artists experimenting with the same materials (and, to some degree, subjects) at the same moment in their careers" (213).

Cassatt soon struck out on her own. While many portraitists preferred pastels, she experimented with combinations of metallic paint, gouache, distemper, and watercolor. But her work strongly reflected a keen understanding of classical methods and composition. For example, in The Family, "Cassatt's classic, pyramidal composition was probably derived from Renaissance prototypes, such as Raphael's paintings of the Madonna and Child with the young Saint John or an angel," according to the Chrysler Museum of Art's Chief Curator Jeff Harrison. At the same time, art historians also attribute the asymmetrical arrangement and linear quality of the figures in The Family to the influence of Japanese prints (Harrison 150).

Try another comparison, this time between Jean-FranÆois Millet's Baby's Slumber and The Family. In what ways do both works allude to themes of the Madonna and Child? How are both works connected to the larger trend of Realism, which captured sacred moments in everyday life? In light of her appreciation for classical art, The Family indicates a fresh perspective on old traditions. Cassatt believed that great painters should combine the classical and the modern. "She and the other Impressionists who concentrated on depictions of the human figure were deeply interested in the conventions of painting and looked to traditional techniques for ways to resolve some of their own artistic dilemmas" (Stratis 217). Cassatt's work here indicates the maturity of an artist who knew how to blend classical techniques of composition with her own personalized, expressive style.

The Family just recently returned to the Chrysler Museum of Art last year from an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago entitled Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman (October 10, 1998-January 10, 1999). In May 2000, the painting will travel briefly to the Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Massachusetts.

-- - by Julie Jenkins Strohkorb

References/Resources

Harrison, Jefferson C. The Chrysler Museum Handbook of the European and American Collections. Norfolk: The Chrysler Museum, 1991.

Mathews, Nancy Mowll, Ed. Cassatt: A Retrospective. Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc., 1996.

Pollock, Griselda. Mary Cassatt. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1998.

Stratis, Harriet K. "Innovation and Tradition in Mary Cassatt's Pastels: A Study of Her Methods and Materials." Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman, edited by Susan F. Rossen. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1998.

Walker, Andrew J. "Mary Cassatt's Modern Education: The United States, France, Italy and Spain." Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman, edited by Susan F. Rossen. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1998.