Updated March 31, 2014

Mary Cassatt 1844 - 1926

Impressionism

In the vertical art storage rack you will find the following reproduction and posters: Large reproduction: • Susan on a Balcony Holding a Dog (1883) Posters: • The Art Elements & Principles posters to use in the discussion In the black cabinet you will find a white binder with a copy of this presentation and several 8.5 x 11 prints of the other paintings referenced in this presentation. In the plastic bin you will find a book Suzette and the Puppy: A Story About Mary Cassatt by Joan Sweeney

Mary Cassatt

   

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Art in the Classroom North Stratfield School

Personal Information   Name: Mary Stevenson Cassatt Nationality: American Born: May 23, 1844 in Allegheny, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Died: June 14, 1926, at the age of 82, Mary Cassatt died at her home near Paris, France. Lived: United States and France Family: Mary Cassatt’s was the second daughter of a wealthy family. Her father was a

stockbroker, her mother was an extremely well educated woman who was widely read and spoke fluent French. Mary Cassatt never married, and though children figure predominantly in her work, she had no children of her own.

Elements of Art

Note to Presenters: When looking at Cassatt’s work, keep in mind the Elements of Art: the line, shape, color, form, and texture. This laminated print is available to bring into the classroom, it shows and describes all the things that go into making a work of art and can be shown to the children so that they may keep these things in mind as they look at the paintings.

Artist Background In the fall of 1851, when Mary was seven, the Cassatt family moved to Europe and settled in Paris. They lived there for five years; while Mary was there she became acquainted with the great art in the museums of Europe. After returning to the United States, at the age of 16, Cassatt turned her back on the domestic role which was the normal course for young women of the period, instead she decided to study art seriously. Mary enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. She remained at the Academy until 1865, and the following year at the age of 22, she returned to Europe to study the works of the Old Masters. Ask: Who do you think the “Old Masters” are? Old Masters are distinguished European artists of the period from around the 1500's to the early 1700's.

Mary Cassatt

   

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Art in the Classroom North Stratfield School

Style and Technique Mary Cassatt was a highly accomplished and outstanding painter and printmaker, famous for her beautiful, loving portraits of women and children. She is considered one of the leading members of the Impressionists. Ask: Has anyone ever heard the term Impressionism? Impressionism is a style of painting developed in the late 1900's characterized by short brush strokes of pure, bright colors to communicate the effects of natural light. The Impressionists were interested in using pure bright colors to create the feeling of natural light. They preferred to work outside and depict everyday scenes. In Cassatt's paintings, often done either in oil or pastel, we see she concentrated on how human figures looked. Mary Cassatt’s paintings are precise and show her sharp eye in her accurately the proportions of people, making sure to paint their faces very realistically. Cassatt chose to paint the working class women who cared for their own children, rather than painting the wealthy class women who hired nurses or nannies. Show: 8.5x11 inch prints in the binder of Cassatt’s paintings of mothers and children.

Mother and Child, 1890

Mother combing child’s hair, 1879

The boating party, 1894

Child and Woman seated in garden, 1881

Mother’s goodnight kiss, 1888

Mary Cassatt

   

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Art in the Classroom North Stratfield School

Ask: What words come to your mind when you look at these paintings. Love, caring, happiness, relaxation? Ask: Would you consider any of these paintings not finished? Which one(s) and what made you choose it? Ask: How to these paintings make you feel? Ask: Can you guess how the artist felt when she was painting these portraits? Ask: Do these paintings look realistic to you? Why or why not As an Impressionist Mary Cassatt would use very noticeable brushstrokes, painting colors side by side, but not blending them. Because the paint color was so close together the viewers own brain would mix them together instead of the artist mixing colors on a palette and putting them on the canvas. Ask: What is a palette? Palette - A board on which an artist mixes colors. Ask: What is a brushstroke? Brushstroke - the manner of applying paint to a surface with a brush. The brushstroke is an important part of the artist's style. Ask: Can you see the brushstrokes in these paintings? Where? Mary Cassatt exhibited her work in Paris and was good enough to impress the Impressionists there. Because of her talent she was asked to officially join the Impressionist group and Mary did because she loved painting. The Impressionists painted outdoors, bringing freshness and spontaneity to real scenes from daily life. These types of painting are known as Genre (pronounced shawn-rah) paintings. They used new techniques to achieve lightness and purity of color, often putting pure color straight onto the canvas. Mary Cassatt's involvement with the Impressionists is very important because she introduced this style of painting to the United States. Mary Cassatt was also willing to try new things and learned printmaking. Ask: What do you think printmaking is? Printmaking is when an artist takes a design or picture and transfers it to paper or canvas from an engraved plate, wood block, or lithographic stone. Artists are able to reproduce the same picture many times. Cassatt worked on her prints at home in the evening and set up her own press, producing a series of color prints in 1891, she would eventually produce over 200 prints that would become an important contribution to the art world. Mary Cassatt received an award--France's Legion of Honor--in 1904 in recognition of her dedication to her work. At that time, she was losing her eyesight. Because of this, she abandoned her printmaking,

Mary Cassatt

   

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Art in the Classroom North Stratfield School

After 1914, now blind, she was no longer able to paint. She died at her beloved chateau near Paris on June 14, 1926. Featured Artwork Susan on a Balcony Holding a Dog (1883)

This painting is an example of a genre painting, a portrait of a woman and a dog. Ask: Who knows what a portrait is? A portrait is a painting of a particular person. Portraits are painted to show how people look and what they are like. Often artists are hired to paint someone's portrait, but sometimes they paint their friends or family. Ask: What can you tell about this woman? Look at her clothes, her pose, Ask: Where is she? Ask: What is her expression? Serenity, calmness Ask: Do you think she was a friend of Mary Cassatt's? Ask: Do you think the dog belongs to the woman? Ask: What lines do you see? Look at the lines of the gate behind her. They are strong and sturdy, very straight. Your eye naturally follows the lines to the faces of the subject. The curve of the line of the woman’s shoulders and

hands make her look relaxed, but the diagonal line of her leaning body almost make it look like she is just about to get up. The diagonal suggests movement. Ask: What shapes do you see? Rectangle, triangle Geometric: Rectangles in the gate Triangle of her head, the dog’s body, her arm Organic/freeform: Her hat, the buildings in the distant background Ask: What colors do you see in the shadows? How about where the light is shining on her? Where is the light coming from? Ask: How does the artist’s choice of colors affect the mood of a painting? Remind the children about warm colors (red, orange, yellow) and cool colors (blue and green) and the different feelings that that color can create. Ask: Do the colors look natural to you?

Mary Cassatt

   

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Art in the Classroom North Stratfield School

Ask: Does this painting look like it has texture? Texture is how something feels. Ask: Can you see her brushstrokes? What kind of feeling does texture create in a painting? Allow the children to look closely at the paintings where the brushstrokes are more visible. Activity Read: You may choose to read from the included book Suzette and the Puppy-A Story About Mary Cassatt by Joan Sweeney

Resources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Cassatt http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/mary-cassatt