{"id":345,"date":"2012-11-13T15:51:07","date_gmt":"2012-11-13T20:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=345"},"modified":"2012-11-13T16:08:36","modified_gmt":"2012-11-13T21:08:36","slug":"mary-cassatt-and-the-feminine-ideal-in-19th-century-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/mary-cassatt-and-the-feminine-ideal-in-19th-century-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

Claude Monet maintained (I’m paraphrasing) that caricature was the soul of art.  Not a surprising statement coming from a master caricaturist.  I agree with Monet wholeheartedly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Caricature by Monet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art<\/a>—Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris—provides a great opportunity to examine some drawing and prints by Cassatt and her contemporaries (unfortunately Monet is not among them).<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>Cleveland Museum of Art Opens Renovations<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Putting aside the pasted-on theme, this small show is chockablock with masterful drawings and prints.  Several works by Degas and Lautrec are especially choice.  Cassatt holds her own among this fast company, which is saying a lot.  She shines most brightly in several dry points, including this one.<\/p>\n

\"Cassatt<\/a>
Cassatt Etching and Drypoint<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One point highlighted by this exhibit, is the tremendous effect Japanese art\/prints had on mid-century European art.  An Utamaro<\/a> woodcut next to several Cassatt soft-ground etchings (no, not woodcuts) demonstrates just how much influence Japanese art had on her.  These Japanese-influenced works are one of the low points of the show, and speak to one of the criticisms leveled at her over the years, namely that she was too influenced by her teachers\/companions.  (I wonder if the curator was trying to make this point.)<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>In the Studio Oct. 14 2012<\/span><\/a><\/div>

The woodenness (no pun intended) of the Japanese-influenced etchings might be due in part to the labor-intensive technique of color etching.  Her other drawings and prints on view are strong and not the least wooden.<\/p>\n

Another low point can be summed up by saying: Pissarro had a stiff hand.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>Stephen Pentak at Bonfoey<\/span><\/a><\/div>

What do you think Monet meant about caricature?  Just as a writer might sketch a character in a few sentences, the artist can do the same with a few lines.  When done for comic effect it produces caricatures.  Otherwise, this ‘characterizing’ produces landscapes, figures, portraits—sketches of any type imaginable.  (What is the ‘character’ of a landscape?)  Artists have long known that this characterizing is best when done quickly.  Even academic artists like Thomas Couture<\/a> (Manet’s teacher) highly valued the quick sketch—the ebauche<\/a>.  Of course, we know the importance of the quick study to Monet and the Impressionists.<\/p>\n

Finally, I can’t let the exhibition go without showing a delightful etching by Degas.<\/p>\n

\"Mary<\/a>
Mary Cassatt at Louvre by Degas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Claude Monet maintained (I’m paraphrasing) that caricature was the soul of art.  Not a surprising statement coming from a master caricaturist.  I agree with Monet wholeheartedly. The exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art—Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris—provides a great opportunity to examine some drawing and prints by Cassatt and her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,5,46,1],"tags":[59,75,62,65,73,272,74],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-museum","category-artists","category-reviews","category-uncategorized","tag-cleveland-museum-of-art","tag-couture","tag-mary-cassatt","tag-monet","tag-review","tag-tom-hudson","tag-utamaro"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":292,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/thumbs-up-thumbs-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":345,"position":0},"title":"Thumbs-up: van Ruisdael; Thumbs-down: Renoir","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve loved art as far back as I can remember.\u00a0 During the summer before First Grade we moved to a farm, and while exploring the barn loft (true story), I was thrilled to discover a bunch of painting gear\u2014half-empty paint cans, rags, and stiff brushes.\u00a0 I loved it!\u00a0 I loved\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":466,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/12\/thumbs-up-bonnard-thumbs-sidewaysvuillard\/","url_meta":{"origin":345,"position":1},"title":"Thumbs-up: Bonnard; Thumbs-sideways:Vuillard","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"December 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Vuillard Have you dated someone whose online profile scored highly, only to be\u00a0disappointed\u00a0upon\u00a0meeting her\/him? \u00a0I've never used an online dating service (my wife has strong opinions on this subject), but my relationship with Vuillard feels like a\u00a0disappointing\u00a0blind date. \u00a0At different times I've studied him closely. \u00a0He has a beguiling profile\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vuillard: White Room","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/the-white-room.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/the-white-room.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/the-white-room.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4007,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/08\/durer-prints-at-the-cleveland-museum-of-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":345,"position":2},"title":"Durer prints at the Cleveland Museum of Art","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"August 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Cleveland's\u00a0exhibition, housed in two small rooms off the atrium,\u00a0is small put potent. Durer is one of the towering figures in Western art. His drawing prowess is unrivaled--some few have matched him but none have surpassed him. As the forty or so odd prints in this exhibition make clear, his mastery\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Melancholia, engraving by Durer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/melen.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9227,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2021\/01\/who-needs-culture-anyway\/","url_meta":{"origin":345,"position":3},"title":"Who needs culture anyway?","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"January 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the biggest shocks of my life and one of my biggest disappointments occurred when I went to France for the first time in 1993. France! home of great artists--David, Delacroix, the angelic Ingres, Manet, Monet, and many others. Writers? Balzac, of course. The master. I made a pilgrimage\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "aesthetics"","block_context":{"text":"aesthetics","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/aesthetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/garg.jpg?fit=474%2C319&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5371,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2015\/09\/visit-to-chicago-institute-of-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":345,"position":4},"title":"Visit to Chicago Institute of Art","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"September 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My wife and I spent several hours in the Art Institute on Friday. We were in Chicago for an AFHU event at the Ritz-Carlton. It was our first visit to the museum and we didn't attempt to see everything, which is impossible in one visit. Most of our time was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/seurat-chi.jpg?fit=500%2C336&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4018,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/08\/planned-visit-to-the-cleveland-museum-of-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":345,"position":5},"title":"Planned visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"August 22, 2014","format":"status","excerpt":"I'm going to the Cleveland Museum of Art later today to visit the Durer exhibition for the 3rd time. The small exhibit contains three-dozen prints--engravings\u00a0and\u00a0woodcuts, and a single\u00a0etching. I love prints and printmaking so this is a wonderful exhibit for me.","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Gw6F-5z","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}