Mary Cassatt: Oils and Pastels

by E. John Bullard, John Bullard

This volume - illustrated with thirty-two full color plates and published in cooperation with the National Gallery of Art - displays the power and mastery of an artist who is only now beginning to receive the full recognition she deserves. The text and accompanying chronology traces Mary Cassatt's career from her academic art studies in Philadelphia, through her discovery of the works of Manet, Degas, and other impressionists to her highly successful one-woman shows at Gallerie Durand-Ruel, the impressionist's loyal art dealer. Excerpts from the correspondence between Mary Cassatt and her closest friend, Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, help to illuminate the artist's personality. Most of the quotations from these letters appear in print for the first time in this volume.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Reference

87 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Sherry Elmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed both the selection of Cassatt's paintings and the educated commentary offered by Bullard in this book. I was sorry I had to return it to the library after renewing it several times.

[Tim Nason · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars - Excellent introduction to the creative work of Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), an American woman from an upper-middle class Pennsylvania family who moved to Europe to advance her artistic studies, and in Paris became deeply inspired by the work of then pioneering artists Courbet, Manet and Degas. She created paintings, pastels and aquatints; her work was accepted by the Salon and the Impressionist shows; Degas became her close friend and mentor. She encouraged friends Louise and Henry Havemeyer to buy a large number of Renaissance paintings, plus works by El Greco and Goya, along with Courbet, Manet, Monet and Degas, thereby gathering "possibly the finest private collection of nineteenth-century French art ever assembled." Cassatt's interest arose from wanting the work to be seen in America, which lacked any public displays of current European art. A Havemeyer purchase recommended by Cassatt became the first Impressionist painting to be shown in America.

Most of her pictures were of young women alone, or of women with small children, set indoors, such as in homes or at the opera, or outdoors on lawns or under trees or in small boats on a lake. Two paintings in the book show her own mother, whom she cared for in Paris and greatly admired. Cassatt strongly appreciated the realism of the avant-garde French painters and melded such realism with an equally strong affinity for the dignity of women in a society that limited them to roles of wife, caregiver or mother (or all three). Cassatt never married or had children, yet the maternal-child bond is repeatedly shown in serenely composed scenes where mother or caregiver and child are closely physically entwined.

The figures in her paintings and pastels shine forth as if illuminated from within, against backgrounds that are nearly abstract in their brushwork. The book's text refers to this approach being "reminiscent of Manet" where "bravura handling of paint" is often used by both artists for background images, such things as people, mirror images and still-life objects. The influence of Degas is shown in the frequent off-kilter compositions, where figures are set to one side of the picture, along with "close-cropping" that makes the figures fill the picture frame. Degas' influence is also shown in Cassatt's later pastels: "The chalk is applied more freely than before in large-broken strokes. A similar abandonment of form is seen in Degas' work of the same years, due to his increasing blindness."

Another strong influence came through Cassatt's interest in Japanese prints, an interest shared in and encouraged by Degas, which is shown in the flattened effect in many pictures, and in unusual compositional arrangements. The prints also inspired Cassatt to produce her own work. At a rented chateau, "she set up an etching press and hired a professional printer to assist her. The technique she developed in these works was extremely complex, involving the use of soft-ground etching, drypoint, and aquatint on three identical plates. … The Japanese influence is seen in her use of simple, unmodeled forms; bold outlines; rich patterns; and flattened perspective."

A more current commentary of Cassatt's life and work would probably give additional emphasis to how Cassatt negotiated gender roles in the Gilded Age; to her social relationship with other artists of the period, especially other women artists; and to her status as a comfortably well-off frequent traveler who simultaneously had to care for ailing or elderly family members who frequently lived with her. How Cassatt's life as an artist engaged with collectors and with the prominent art dealer Durand-Ruel would be a fascinating topic in itself.

The text's very informative biographical overview combined with close commentary about Cassatt's techniques is exemplary, and the stunning color reproductions, filling the width or height of each page, virtually spring to life before your eyes.

[Cameron Toney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice overview of the artists life and work. Lots of information per painting, and lovely colored prints!