Mary Cassatt, an American painter, pastellist, and engraver, was born into a wealthy family and spent part of her childhood in Paris, Heidelberg, and Darmstadt. She studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1860 to 1864 before returning to France to study genre painting under prominent artists such as Jean-Léon Gérôme, Charles Chaplin, Paul-Constant Soyer, Édouard Frère, and Thomas Couture. She also visited the Louvre and made her debut at the Salon in 1868, exhibiting her painting Joueuse de mandoline (Mandolin Player) under the name Mary Stevenson.
From 1872 to 1874, Cassatt spent time in Italy, in Rome and Parma, where she copied the works of Correggio and studied engraving. She also traveled through Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium before settling permanently in France in 1874. At the 1874 Salon, her painting Ida caught the attention of Edgar Degas, and she was equally moved by two pastels by Degas that she saw in a Parisian gallery. The two developed a strong artistic relationship, united by their passion for the Old Masters, drawing, pastel techniques, and their shared interest in modern life and technical experimentation. They both rejected outdoor painting and gravitated toward intimate, modern subjects.
In 1877, Degas invited Cassatt to exhibit with the Indépendants group, which she officially joined in 1878 after her work was rejected by the Salon. She participated in four of the group’s exhibitions, in 1879, 1880, 1881, and 1886. That same year, her painting Petite fille dans un fauteuil bleu (Little Girl in a Blue Armchair) was rejected by the American section of the Paris World’s Fair for its boldness. During her Impressionist period, Cassatt explored themes of gender and social codes, frequently portraying women in the theater with typical accessories like bouquets, fans, and opera glasses. She played a significant role in bringing Impressionism to the United States by advising her friend Louisine Elder Havemeyer, a major collector of Degas's works, and encouraging her brother Alexander Cassatt to purchase and exhibit works by Claude Monet and Degas in the U.S.
Cassatt was known for her innovative use of distemper, metallic paints, and mixed media techniques. She was a key figure in the revival of pastel and etching. Her drypoint and aquatint etchings were exhibited in 1889 and 1890 with the Société des Peintres-Graveurs Français (Society of French Painter-Engravers). In 1891, her first solo exhibition at the Galerie Durand-Ruel in Paris showcased ten color aquatints in the "Japanese manner." Over the course of her career, she produced more than 250 etchings, working meticulously on each plate, similar to Francisco de Goya. Through etching, Cassatt sought to make her art more accessible to a wider audience.
In the 1890s, Cassatt increasingly focused on pastels, particularly portraits of women and children. Her 1897 pastel Femme et enfant (Woman and Child), later renamed Mère et enfant (Mother and Child), was donated to the French state and is now housed in the Musée d'Orsay. She became famous for her depictions of mothers and children, a theme that allowed her to connect with classical Madonna imagery and express the sensuality of the human form.
A strong feminist, Cassatt was commissioned to create a monumental painting titled Modern Woman for the Woman's Building at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. This work solidified her reputation in the United States, where she held her first solo exhibition at the Durand-Ruel gallery in New York in 1895. In 1894, she purchased the Château de Beaufresne in Le Mesnil-Théribus, where she worked until 1914, when her eyesight began to deteriorate. In 1915, her work was included in an exhibition supporting women’s suffrage at Knoedler & Co. in New York.
Cassatt is regarded as one of the foremost American artists of the late 19th century. However, her recognition in France remains limited, with her works underrepresented in public collections and no major retrospective exhibition held in a national museum.
I hope you enjoyed reading about Mary Cassatt, a strong, intelligent and creative soul.
Renay
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