The Artistic Relationship between Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt - Essay Example

?The Artistic Relationship between Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt are believed to have shared a common relationship, both working and personal. Although there is no exact proof indicating a relationship between the two, there is enough evidence indicating the working relationship that the two artists maintained. Cassatt was introduced to the French Impressionists group of artists by Degas in the late 1870s. The introduction sparked a relationship that ended on the death of Degas. Cassatt was initially not a European, but an American from a wealthy family, whose father was a banker. It was due to her burning passion for art that prompted her to persuade her father to allow her to go to Europe and start her painting career. It was during one of his visits to the salon that Degas saw a painting by Cassatt. Later when they met, he introduced her to the group of artists called The French Impressionists. From this point, an artistic as well as a personal relationship developed between the two artists. Various critics and observers as well as close friends point out that Cassatt’s work was an inspiration of Degas, while Degas relied on her for postures and critics1. To find out the relationship between the two artists, this paper will analyze some of the works by the two artists as well as critic’s thoughts and ideas about their relationship. At the start of her career in France, Cassatt greatly admired the works of Degas and several other artists from the impressionists group. She was mostly impressed by the modernity and the colorfulness of the picture. The freedom and independence in which the artists did their painting captivated her. When their relationship flourished, Degas helped her not only adopt the fresh colors that were central to the new impressionism, but also the light effects that created the picture of modernity paintings. Moreover, Degas’s use of Japanese woodcuts and etchings molded Cassatt to a great printmaker as she constantly borrowed the art from him, making her an equal innovator just like him. Although Degas was classified as an impressionist, he never adopted the color fleck characterized by the impressionists. Instead, he was a classical artist, who was inspected by the wars and their tombs, which he expressed through paintings. On her part, Cassatt’s work was a blend of modernity and classics, especially the manner in which she looked at things, passionately and with compassion2. The impressionists were a group of artists who used color and light to paint that saw the revolution of the modern form of painting among the people, a departure from the traditional way of painting. Initially, it was developed by artists from Paris who did not embrace the idea of following painting standards set by the government. They did not have to present their work to the salon in front of a judge who would determine whether they met the standards or not3. Mostly, they painted about modernity and the issues facing the society around them, without the usual allure of traditionalism in the paintings. Critics point out that before she met these artists, Cassatt was experiencing a hard time with her painting career as she used to express it openly. Two of her paintings had been rejected by the judge, which left her devastated and desperate. In what appeared to have been the revolution of her career was her meeting with Degas. She acknowledged that she felt alive when she made the discovery of the impressionists. The two artists were drawn closer by similar ideologies that they shared, especially their resentment for the salon and love for modern paintings. The sharing of a common artistic sensibilities and interests by the two artists propelled the growth and development of their working relationship that lasted for forty years. They both shared a similar background, as they all came from upper-class of the rich. Due to this, their works portrayed a form of resemblance and similarity in their thinking and settings. In addition to paintings of each other, some of which were not available to the public for viewership, the impressionist group solidified their relationship. Cassatt drew her inspiration from women, and at one point was too feministic in her paintings that it revealed her passionate side of being a woman. Other works about her was an inspiration of her desire to get married, portrayed by a series of paintings of women and children in the 1880s4. However, critics have constantly missed various elements of her work, especially the formal analysts who constantly gave a blind spot on some of the issues such politics of gender. Hardly did she conform to the standards of male images of women, a reason why most of the analysts missed the political aspect of her drawings. Remarkably though was the support they gave each other as workmates. Personal relationship between these two artists could not be separated from their work as some of their friends observed5. Amid the flared anger and emotions by the two friends, she mostly helped Degas with postures and at times actions that were included in his paintings. Moreover, Degas produced a series of pastels, drawings and etchings of Cassatt at the Louvre, which showed that he admired her at the Louvre. These paintings were mostly viewed from the rear side, and appeared slim and elegant, with the engrossed attention she paid to the work of art in front of her. This was a condition he perfectly understood, since she understood his perfectionism in drawings. Therefore, she gave him the supports, with the postures, to allow him get the perfect impression he intended. Observers point out that when a model could not perfectly pose for a certain posture that he wished to portray in his paintings, she would put on hat and pose for him to draw and paint6. Cassatt and Degas collaborated in a number of projects and paintings. Notably was the collaboration in a journal which Degas planned to publish in the year 1879. Mary Cassatt and other impressionist artists of the time were meant to feature and make their contributions into the journal. The different ventures that they took together helped to cement their friendship, which made them grow better as friends7. The projects constantly brought them together as they laid down the plans and strategies to implement them. Despite their similarities which largely included figure compositions, their works constantly differed thematically. Although she was a great admirer of Degas, she never imitated his work, but chose to maintain her originality and creativity. Degas acted as her source of inspiration and subsequently, throughout her career, she maintained Independence and developed her own personalized idioms in her paintings. Through his work, Degas was a source of Cassatt’s immense interest in the rehabilitation of pictorial qualities of the daily incidents among the society. Her work though, was more inclined towards the domestic issues in the family, revealing some sense of intimacy when compared to that of her fellow impressionists whose work leaned towards social and urban issues. Her greatest emphasis was the mother and the child theme of the 1880s8. Many critics argue that this was a period which she desperately wanted to have a family, a reason why she painted the series of the pictures. Embedded though in these pictures, was unrevealed themes of gender issues and domestic politics. Moreover, she developed a sense of immediate observation from Degas, which mostly emphasized on gestural significance of a painting. Some of the works by these artists are analyzed below. Edgar Degas, Ballerina and Lady with a Fan, 1855     9 Mary Cassatt, At the Opera, 1879 10 From the pictures, the color and the lighting are similar, a common characteristic of the impressionists’ work. The biggest difference however is on the looker, and who possesses power over the situation in the pictures. These are examples of works by the Degas and Cassatt, how they contrasted and differed in their artistic works. In the painting by Degas about the Ballerina and Lady with a Fan, although the woman is watching the ballerina perform in front of the balcony, her attention is dominated by the man sitting behind her and looking over her shoulder to a point that she rarely pays close attention to the play. The audience in Degas’s paintings was in the position of the male spectator, which was the view of the view of the artist. Cassatt’s painting on its part, At the Opera, the woman watches the opera from the side instead of the front. Around the lady, there is a sense of space surrounding her. In Cassatt’s painting, the woman is keen looking at the opera with binoculars in her hands, and does not pay any attention to the man in the far right doing the admiration. This gives the man space to watch the woman without her noticing his actions. Cassatt, Mary. La Sortie Du Bain 11 The picture shows the excellent painting work of Cassatt about the theme of motherhood. Her series of mother and child was found in her series that she produced in the 1880s, commonly described as an indication of her feminism theme. Her subjects however were not formalized, as their simplicity was evident from her portrayal of the mother and the new born child. However, she successfully portrayed the joy and happiness of the mother of a new born baby through such paintings12. Themes about her paintings since the influence of Degas were revolved around the simple things surrounding people, especially domestic issues. With passion and a lingering charm, she managed to show these issues through her works, and maintained this consistently all through her career. Degas, Edgar. Mary Cassatt at the Louvre: The Etruscan Gallery, 1880 13 This picture is arguably one of the most complicated works of Degas. In the print, he portrayed Cassatt and her sister is in the galleries of the Musee du Louvre. This was supposed to appear in the first issue of their prospective journal in which he planned to publish. The journal which was called Le Jour et la Nuit, was supposed to be a collaboration of the two artists, and also include works of another artist of the impression, Felix Bracquemond. This was an illustration of their efforts to include new tonal effects in the artists’ prints by the use of etching plates, which was an inspiration from the success of the impressionist art work. In conclusion, the two artists enjoyed a tight working relationship. From the moment they became friends and Cassatt was introduced to the impressionists, their friendship kept growing with time. Cassatt as pointed out was inspired by the work of Degas, who acted as her role model. The fact that the two of these artists were impressionists created a similarity in their work, but still some differences. Bibliography Broude, Norma, Mary Cassatt; Modern Woman or the Cult of True Womanhood? Jstor 21, no. 2 (2000): 36. Caldwell, Eleanor B., Exposition Mary Cassatt. Gallery Durandruel, Paris. November-December, MDCCCXCIIJstoI r 3, no. 1 (1895): 4-5 Cassatt, Mary. At the Opera. 1879. Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Sedef’s Corner. Accessed. 10 June 2013 http://www.sedefscorner.com/2011/03/edgar-degas-and-mary-cassatt-two.html Cassatt, Mary. La Sortie Du Bain. n.d. Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland. Jstor. Accessed. 10 June 2013 http://www.jstor.org/stable/25136426 Degas, Edgar. Ballerina and Lady with a Fan. 1855.Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. Sedef’s Corner. Accessed. 10 June 2013 http://www.sedefscorner.com/2011/03/edgar-degas-and-mary-cassatt-two.html Degas, Edgar. Mary Cassatt at the Louvre: The Etruscan Gallery. 1880. The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed. 10 June 2013 http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/19.29.2 Havemeyer’s, Osborne Henry, Remarks on Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt, M. Knoedler & Go, New York, 1915. http://www.carnegieartsturlock.org/Remarks_on_Edgar_Degas_and_Mary_Cassatt__Mrs_HO_Havemeyer.pdf Peltakian, Danielle, Mary Cassatt (1884-1926); American Member of the French Impressionist School; Noted Printmaker, Sullivan Goss an American Gallery, 2011. Stuttaford, Genevieve. 1996. Impressionists side by side: Their friendships, rivalries, and artistic exchanges. Publishers Weekly243, (32) (Aug 05): 423-423, http://search.proquest.com/docview/197001495?accountid=45049 (accessed June 8, 2013). Yeh, Fillin Susan, Mary Cassatt’s Images of Women, Jstor 35, No. 4 (1976): 359 Read More