Mary Cassatt
She was a woman who soared to the stars across the firmament of the male-dominated international art world. She was the only American, male or female, to become a member of the French Impressionists. Most women of her time were confined to the circumscribed world of marriage, homemaking and motherhood, but not her. Who is she? She is Mary Cassatt, certainly the greatest American female artist of her time, and arguably the greatest artist produced by any nation. Born in Pittsburgh on May 23, 1844, this American artist studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia before traveling extensively throughout Europe. The daughter of an affluent businessman, Cassatt's parents were not enthused with their daughter's aspirations to become an artist, preferring instead for her to return home to marry and settle down. But the independent Cassatt made Paris her permanent home in 1874, the year of the first Impressionist Exhibition and Cassatt's first Salon success. She met Degas in 1877 and the relationship had an immediate effect on Cassatt's work. While she employed an impressionist style and exhibited at 4 of 8 Impressionist exhibitions, her paintings express a uniqueness of their own. Most famous for her mother
The stripes on the woman's pants are even complementary, which makes them appear very vividly opposed to the rest of the images. The decade of the 1890s marks a period when her unique creativity and individual style at last emerged unfettered. The various bottles that rest on the basin stand, the designs on the rug, and the pitcher next to the stand are all prime examples of organic shapes. She produced genre paintings and portraiture, and Cassatt's depictions of women are ones of independent and powerful beings. Woman Bathing; drypoint and aquatint on laid paper, plate: 14 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. Her elongated body consumes the print from the top to bottom and is by far the focal point. In addition to applying the elements of art to Cassatt's masterpiece, it also important to analyze the print by applying the principles of art. There are many straight as well, for example the lines that portray the mirror and those that compose the basin stand. The simplification of the plane, decorative patterning and magnificent use of color unites the print. There are many nice geometric shapes represented in this print due to the abundance of straight lines. Access to the cafes and corridors of her male counterparts were denied to women, yet Cassatt's paintings are expressions of her ability to circumvent these limitations and reflect another aspect of Parisian modern life. The subject, the woman, can be interpreted as a simple woman, unselfconsciously cleansing herself. She also used a consistent pattern in the woman's outfit and in the rug. Repetition and patter are also essential in this print. Cassatt's perfection of drypoint shows us the bare bones of the work of art, the texture is permanent and intensely real.
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Acceptance Essays
