Mary Stevenson Cassatt was a prominent American Impressionist and the first female to launch her own exhibit in the Paris Salon. In her time, there few women who managed to succeed in the field of art, especially for a colonial. She was educated by famous French masters such as Degas and spent most of her time copying the artworks of the previous masters. Cassatt first studied arts in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts between 1860 up to 1862. As a woman, her determination is quite remarkable as she managed to successfully persuade her parents to let her enter to a prestigious art school in Paris where she met many other Impressionists (Weinberg, “Mary Stevenson Cassatt 1844–1926”). The Mandolin Player was exhibited in the French Salon in 1868. It is a portrait of young girl holding a mandolin; dressed in pristine white blouse, night-blue skirt, and a red-brown shawl propped carelessly onto her lap. The painting does not use a vanishing point; however, the brilliant execution of the chiaroscuro on canvas gave the depth and two dimensional perspectives. The painting used natural shapes; the artist used the oil pigments to outline the contours of the girl’s body. However, unlike the previous paintings of the early 19th century, Cassatt’s style was highly influenced by the Impressionists such as Degas. The painting takes on rough, clipped brushstrokes to create an impression of the character’s figure. The background was plain dark brown; the colors used varied from warm whites, grey, auburn, burnt gold, flesh, teak, and contrasted with darker ones such as black and night-blue. Despite having an appearance of a roughly, unfinished artwork, Cassatt’s painting still managed to capture the girl’s innocence through the crystal clear grey eyes, dainty little fingers playing the mandolin, and a sensuous mouth (National Museum of Women in Arts, “Mary Cassatt 1844–1926”). Additionally, Lilacs in a Window was also an oil painting made between 1880 up to 1883 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Lilacs in a Window”). In contrast to the previously mentioned artwork, this painting is way had a rough texture and appearance due to short, rough brushstrokes applied on canvas. Just like her previous work, she used the pigments to outline the lilac flowers, the vase, the window, and the leaves. Despite the absence of the light source in the painting, Cassatt effectively utilized chiaroscuro to indicate which parts should remain in dark and which areas should be placed in light. Hence, this work was also two dimensional. The colors used are ‘cool’ to the eyes such as the lavender, dark violet, green, yellow-green, white, moss green, and grey. Due to the brushstrokes, the painting does not clearly portray the shapes of the petals unless the audience looks closer to the painting. The texture appears as rough due to the application of paint on the canvas. The subject was not thoroughly realistic even though it was derived from a natural subjects; the cause of this was the short, fast, way of brushstrokes that created the impression of the subject.
Mary Cassatt’s triumph over her sex gave way to the rise of female painters and this was an astonishing feat. In the past, women had only few chances to exercise their talents. Few opportunities were only allowed to women by the society; two respectable jobs for a lady would be either to become a lady’s companion or a governess. Women had little chances of having education. In fact, the English author Charlotte Bronte wrote in her novel Jane Eyre the need of women to hone their skills. She argued that female education should not be only limited to needlework and housekeeping; but also women should be allowed to join other field of studies like their male counterparts (Ch. 12, 109-110). Why do women failed to achieve success unlike men? This question had been existent ever since the Renaissance. Proto-feminist writers such as Louise Labe argued in her work, Epistle to Clemence de Bourges (1555) that women do not have the same liberties as men to study other fields due to the restrictions put on their sex; and if they do, these women inevitably became the subject of scorn of the patriarchal society wherein the majority of the male population preferred their womenfolk to remain secluded within the walls of home. In Labe’s work, she detailed to the how the women of the 16th century struggled to find their own spot in the society so obsessed in preventing women to ascend to a much higher position. The work’s tone was demeaning; almost as if the writer had regrets for she had stated that women only had a limited time to study other fields (Labe and Prinne, 149-150). On the other hand, Virginia Woolf also acknowledged the “faulty education” and reiterated the demeaning and pitiful life of women, especially in their pursuit of learning. Learning minimal knowledge from their teachers, they were confined only within their homes, and only learned sewing since it is a skill suitable for ladies. Woolf also affirmed of the women’s lack of freedom to choose their field of studies, originated from the restrictive patriarchal traditions, as well as the absence or scarcity of materials which can be used to educate themselves to make their footing equal to men (Woolf, n.p.). In a way, Mary Cassatt’s work, was already modernized and far from the works of the women of her time. She made a successful leap of breaking free from the restrictive patriarchal norms of the society. Her modern views as a modern woman enabled her to succeed in a field widely dominated by men. And it was her perseverance, skill, and wealth of her family that she managed to educate herself in a field far beyond what the ordinary women at that time could afford to learn.
Works Cited
Bronte, Charlotte. Collins Classics: Jane Eyre. London: Harper Press, 2010. Print.
Labe, Louise. “Epistle to Clemence de Bourges.” Trans. Jeanne Prinne. Women Writers of the Renaissance and Reformation. Ed. Katherina M. Wilson. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1987. Web. Google Book. 19 Jan. 2016.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Lilacs in a Window (Vase de Lilas a la Fenetre).” 1880-1883. Oil on canvas. Web. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. 19 Jan. 2016.
National Museum of Women in Arts, “Mary Cassatt 1844–1926.” N.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.
Weinberg, H. Barbara. “Mary Stevenson Cassatt (1844–1926).” 2004. Web. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Metropolitan Museum of Art. 19 Jan. 2016.
Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. University of Adelaide, 2015. Web. E-book. 19 Jan. 2016.
