Women & Other Artists of the Impressionist Period

There were four women classified as Impressionists--Berthe Morisot, Marie Bracquemond, Eva Gonzales, and Mary Cassatt. These four were very different artists, each of whom related to the artistic and political debates of her time in her own specific way. The four did not consciously identify themselves with one another, and they developed stronger intellectual and aesthetic collaborations with their male colleagues rather than with each other:

Cassatt, of all the women Impressionists, was the most politicized about her femininity and consequently established strong ties with women artists, primarily, though, outside the Impressionist circle. This belies the popular assumption that the Impressionists were a close knit and exclusive group, completely separate from their more conservative contemporaries.

The conditions under which these women worked and lived differed

. . .
r instance, admired her images of children, and he found the reason for their excellence in her femininity rather than in her skill as an artist. He was praising her for doing well with what he considered an appropriately feminine subject. Degas was very successful during his lifetime. When he was a young man he studied under a pupil of Ingres and became one of the finest draughtsmen of the century. Since he was traditional to this extent, many of his pictures were purchased by the Salon, representing the art establishment, generally in opposition to the Impressionists. His pictures also found a ready market when he was older. His only interest was in his pictures, and he lived most of his life in a shabby old house in Montmartre, rarely visited even by other artists because he had such a sharp tongue. In addition to his own works, he had a collection of the works of other artists, including Ingres and Delacroix, CTzanne and Gauguin: He hated to part with his own pictures and when he did go so far as to sell them he sometimes borrowed them back and "forgot" to return them. The last Impressionist exhibition was in 1886, and after this time Degas never again offered a picture for exhibition. He painted more diligently
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Gonzales Manet, CTzanne Gauguin, Mary Cassatt, JK Huysmans, Monet Degas, Edgar Degas, Paris Salon, Arnold Hauser, Madrid Antwerp, Republic Cassatt, mary cassatt, women impressionists, women artists, cassatt women impressionists, 1870s 1880s, cassatt women, doctrine scene, male colleagues, degas helpful, eva gonzales, degas helpful painters, helpful painters,
Approximate Word count = 1752
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Women & Other Artists of the Impressionist Period