beaux-arts

TO ATTEND AN ACADEMY 1850’s a woman needed the approval from a male guardian. These social restrictions existed worldwide for women and were strictly enforced. Females who participated in an Academy’s curriculum were not only excluded from attending the life-drawing classes but also prohibited from competing in the history painting category of the Salon competition.

THE TALE OF THE TWO

STRICT rules existed regarding the appropriate behavior of the positioned social elite woman during the nineteen hundreds. For instance, it was not acceptable for a woman to be alone in a room with a man if he was not her father or brother. To fill her time she was encouraged to pursue light domestic activities that might include music, sewing, flower arranging or watercolor painting. Few women choose to extend these limiting boundaries. For, it was considered unconventional for woman of middle-class status to be desirous of obtaining a profession because they were not expected to do paid work.

To attend an Academy that taught the applied arts in the 1850s, a woman needed the approval from her male guardian. Regardless of the institutions’ geographical location the same social restrictions for women existed worldwide and were strictly enforced. And, if indeed the young woman received permission to attend an art academy there still remained obstacles in her path.  Not to mention that it was considered unacceptable and therefore not permitted to sketch a fully clothed male model. Therefore, female students who participated in an Academy’s curriculum were not only excluded from attending the life-drawing classes but also prohibited from competing in the history painting category of the Salon competition.  The former was important to build strong drawing skills while the latter was necessary to insure the artists financial survival.

The Artists’ Daughter, Julie, with her Nanny c. 1884 by Berthe Morisot

One woman who broke with tradition was Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). Morisot was born into an artistic family and was fortunate enough to receive encouragement to pursue her vision. She and her sister began their training in the mid-1850s by copying the Old Masters in the Louvre. From their very first meeting, Manet recognized and supported Morisot’s artistic pursuits, suggesting that she join the Independents.

Hanging the Laundry Out to Dry by Berthe Morisot (upper left): Oil ~ Berthe Morisot: Reading by Berthe Morisot (middle left): Berthe Morisot ~ Oil (bottom right): Sisters c.1869 Berthe Morisot (bottom left)

Consequently, Berthe was the only woman to exhibit with Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, and Bazille at the first IMPRESSIONISTS‘ Salon in 1874. After this first exhibit together she remained loyal to the group by refusing to submit works to the Beaux-Arts yearly Salon competition. Throughout her life she remained closely associated with the Impressionists. During her career her paintings were in high demand and brought the highest prices of any in the group. She married Manet’s brother Eugene in 1874.

Second to follower her convictions was Mary Cassatt (1845-1926). Born in Pennsylvania, to wealthy parents. Over the objections of her father she moved to Paris to study painting after completing studies at Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. Like Morisot, Cassatt also studied the Old Masters but on location in Italy.Her work attracted the enthusiastic attention of Degas while she was exhibiting at the Beaux-Arts Salon in 1875. That first meeting developed into a lifelong friendship for the two of them.

Offering the Panel to The Bullfighter c.1873 Mary Cassatt

Woman with Pearls c.1879 (upper left): The Child’s Bath c.1893) by Cassatt: Lady at the Tea Table c.1883 by Cassatt (upper right): Children on the Beach c.1884 by Cassatt (lower left): Self Portrait c.1880 by Cassatt (lower right)

Maternite c.1890 by Mary Cassatt

Nurse Reading to a Little Girl c.1895 (left): Mother and Child Before a Pool c.1898 by Cassatt (upper right): Lydia At The Tapestry Loom c.1881 (lower right)

Reine LaFabre and Margot Before A Window c.1902 by Mary Cassatt

Cassatt enjoyed both a long and successful career so much so that upon her death in 1926 she was completely financially independent without having to rely on assistance from her family in later years. Her support of the Impressionists and influential connections helped establish their presence in private American collections and awareness in today’s museums.

Photograph of Mary Cassatt c.1913

Unlike Morisot and Cassatt the female student of today does not have restrictions placed on her curriculum. Gallery attendees can appreciate all forms of landscape, still life, history and portrait painting without regard as to which gender painted what picture. Created by both men and women without restrictions, rules or guidelines.

Cynthia