- In full:
- Mary Stevenson Cassatt
- Born:
- May 22, 1844, Allegheny City [now part of Pittsburgh], Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Died:
- June 14, 1926, ChĂąteau de Beaufresne, near Paris, France (aged 82)
- Movement / Style:
- Impressionism
Mary Cassatt
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Who was Mary Cassatt?
Mary Cassatt (1844â1926) was an American painter and printmaker within the Impressionist group in Paris. Her work predominantly captured the intimate lives of contemporary women, particularly their roles as caretakers of children.
Initially, Cassatt painted figures of friends and relatives with children in the Impressionist style. After a Japanese print exhibition in Paris in 1890, she created 10 colored prints, influenced by Japanese masters Utamaro and Toyokuni. Her emphasis shifted from form to line and pattern, with mothers caring for children becoming a principal motif. Cassatt also advised wealthy Americans to purchase Impressionist paintings, shaping American taste.
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What style of painting is Mary Cassatt known for?
Mary Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker known for being part of the Impressionist movement, a group of artists working in and around Paris in the late 19th century.
Cassatt shared with the Impressionists an interest in using bright colors inspired by the outdoors. Edgar Degas became her friend, and his style, as well as that of Gustave Courbet, inspired her. Like Degas, Cassatt showed great mastery of drawing and preferred unposed asymmetrical compositions. She was also innovative in her use of pastels.
A principal motif of her mature period is mothers caring for small children.
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Where did Mary Cassatt spend most of her artistic career?
Mary Cassatt, an American painter and printmaker, spent most of her artistic career in Paris after choosing it as her permanent residence in 1874. There, she established her studio and became part of the Impressionist movement, sharing interests in experiment and bright colors.
Inspired by artists like Edgar Degas and Japanese printmakers, Cassatt focused on intimate depictions of women's lives, especially mothers with children. Her work gained recognition, and she exhibited with the Impressionists. In 1894, she purchased a chùteau in Le Mesnil-Théribus, dividing her time between there and Paris.
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What subjects did Mary Cassatt often paint?
Mary Cassatt, an American painter and printmaker who lived in Paris, was part of the Impressionist movement. Cassatt focused her work almost exclusively on the intimate lives of contemporary women, particularly their role as caretakers of children. Her early paintings featured friends, relatives, and their children in the Impressionist style. After a Japanese print exhibition in Paris in 1890, she created a series of 10 colored prints, influenced by Japanese masters Utamaro and Toyokuni. Later, her primary subject became mothers caring for their small children.
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How did Mary Cassatt contribute to the Impressionist movement?
Mary Cassatt, an American painter and printmaker, significantly contributed to the Impressionist movement by sharing the Impressionist's interest in experiment and using bright colors inspired by the outdoors. Edgar Degas admired her drawing and invited her to exhibit with the Impressionists in 1879, 1880, 1881, and 1886. Cassatt also exploited the medium of pastels. After the Japanese print exhibition in Paris in 1890, she created a series of 10 colored prints, such as Woman Bathing and The Coiffure, influenced by Japanese masters Utamaro and Toyokuni. Cassatt also urged her wealthy American friends and relatives to buy Impressionist paintings, influencing American taste.
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How did being a woman influence Mary Cassatt's career and artwork?
As a woman in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Mary Cassatt's career and artwork were notably influenced by the social norms of the time. Confined by societal expectations, Cassatt focused her art on the intimate lives of women, particularly their roles as caretakers of children.
Her models were primarily friends, relatives, and their children, as French social norms limited the spaces she could access and the models she could work with. Despite these limitations, Cassatt's unique perspective allowed her to capture everyday moments of women's lives with emotional depth and without excessive sentimentality, influencing American taste and leaving a lasting legacy.
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Mary Cassatt (born May 22, 1844, Allegheny City [now part of Pittsburgh], Pennsylvania, U.S.âdied June 14, 1926, ChĂąteau de Beaufresne, near Paris, France) was an American painter and printmaker who was part of the group of Impressionists working in and around Paris. She took as her subjects almost exclusively the intimate lives of contemporary women, especially in their roles as the caretakers of children.
Cassatt was the daughter of a banker and lived in Europe for five years as a young girl. She was tutored privately in art in Philadelphia and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1861â65, but she preferred a less academic approach and in 1866 traveled to Europe to study with such European painters as Jean-LĂ©on GĂ©rĂŽme and Thomas Couture. Her first major showing was at the Paris Salon of 1872; four more annual Salon exhibitions followed.
In 1874 Cassatt chose Paris as her permanent residence and established her studio there. She shared with the Impressionists an interest in experiment and in using bright colors inspired by the out-of-doors. Edgar Degas became her friend; his style and that of Gustave Courbet inspired her own. Degas was known to admire her drawing especially, and at his request she exhibited with the Impressionists in 1879 and joined them in shows in 1880, 1881, and 1886. Like Degas, Cassatt showed great mastery of drawing, and both artists preferred unposed asymmetrical compositions. Cassatt also was innovative and inventive in exploiting the medium of pastels.
Initially, Cassatt painted mostly figures of friends or relatives and their children in the Impressionist style. After the great exhibition of Japanese prints held in Paris in 1890, she brought out her series of 10 colored printsâe.g., Woman Bathing and The Coiffureâin which the influence of the Japanese masters Utamaro and Toyokuni is apparent. In these etchings, combining aquatint, drypoint, and soft ground, she brought her printmaking technique to perfection. Her emphasis shifted from form to line and pattern. The principal motif of her mature and perhaps most familiar period is mothers caring for small childrenâe.g., The Childâs Bath (1893) and Mother and Child (Baby Getting Up from His Nap) (c. 1899). In 1894 she purchased a chĂąteau in Le Mesnil-ThĂ©ribus and thereafter split her time between her country home and Paris. Soon after 1900 her eyesight began to fail, and by 1914 she had ceased working.
Cassatt urged her wealthy American friends and relatives to buy Impressionist paintings, and in this way, more than through her own works, she exerted a lasting influence on American taste. She was largely responsible for selecting the works that make up the H.O. Havemeyer Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.