Alongside her peers Marie Bracquemond and Berthe Morisot - American born artist Mary Cassatt has gained renown as one of "les trois grandes dames" (the three great ladies) of Impressionism.
With works predominately inspired by the social and private lives of women in the 19th century - she went on to exhibit in at least half of the Impressionist group exhibitions.
But in many ways, the key influence on her career was Edgar Degas - the fiercely independent minded artist, who shared Mary’s own ideal for being a figurative painter first and foremost, (rather than settling for the “Impressionist” label - which, remember, was originally intended as a derogatory term).
So in today’s article- I want us to share a few of the best examples of Cassatt’s close artistic connection with Degas.
As far as we know - Cassatt and Degas were never romantically involved.
In fact, some of the main things they had in common were strength of character, self-sufficiency, and a deep distaste for others telling them what to do! (Hence, any romantic affair would surely have led to a fiery fall out pretty quickly)
But as soul mates or “twin flames” in the platonic sense, the two clearly had a very special connection.
And while Degas built a bit of a reputation for himself with paintings of ballerinas and nights at the theatre . . . Mary went on to create a number of beautiful works inspired by the same location too.
As we can see - the similarities in style here are undeniable.
Indeed, it can sometimes seem that these works - made independently of each other - are like a direct conversation between the artists; only, Degas generally seeks to take us into the thick of the action, whereas Mary shows us what it is like to be part of the audience. (At a time when the theatre was one of the few public spaces that were genuinely accessible for women to socialise)
But make no mistake - the creative influence between the two of them was never just a one way thing.
So of course, Mary clearly gained a lot from Degas’ mentorship and ongoing influence . . . however the older artist undoubtedly respected and learnt a lot from Mary’s art too. (Even if he was rather loath to admit it, at times!)
The height of their collaboration was around the years of 1879 and 1880 - when they both rented studio’s a mere five minute walk from each other.
And though their lives slowly moved in different directions after this (resulting in Mary’s visits to the opera becoming far less frequent) . . . still, the two artists would remain in touch for the rest of their life.
In fact, towards his latter years - when Degas withdrew from the majority of his former friends, and became increasingly moody or difficult to get along with - Mary remained one of the only people to still regularly visit him, right up until his death in 1917.
So, who knows; perhaps even into their final meetings, the two of them would still have been reminiscing fondly over all those beautiful nights at the theatre.
All support helps immensely in securing the future of this newsletter.
For the Month of September, Art Every Day is pleased to partner with JC Gallery - the leading experts in American Modernism.
Thank you so much for this George, her work is sublime. Her grasp of the feminine, of the delight to be young and at the opera and delighting in the spectacle of it all. Her use of light is masterful, take the painting Lydia leaning on her arms, she has lit her from below, the lights brilliance on the bottom her dress with lemon yellows and pink, then under lighting her face in lavender and mauve, while at the same time , backlighting her shoulders and hair with the chandelier behind her. As I said masterful. I also love her painting In the Loge, woman with opera glasses, the man in the background, you see him leaning around his wife aiming his opera glasses at the subject of the painting, a touch female artist would see and give an interplay of intrigue.
Her work is all the better for meeting Degas, as his was meeting her, maybe more.
Ah, thanks for this! I’m always reminded of my high school art teacher when I see Mary Cassat’s work. Mrs Smith also taught art appreciation which I took my freshman year. During an exercise in which we were encouraged to take paper and pastels from a tub and try to recreate what was projected onto the overhead screen - a piece by Edgar Degas, naturally - she stopped me to have a look at my work. She encouraged me to take her art classes going forward and I felt as if I grew in spirit and heart that day. Mary Cassat featured in many of our discussions in Mrs Smith’s classes and certainly on style recognition tests. Over thirty years later (July of this year) I stood in front of works by Cassat, Degas, and so many others at the Musée D’Orsay that I’d only seen in books. I took a moment to just sit down and be in the room in the moment in gratitude. I testify that art shaped my life and I am a better man for it.