Friday, May 22, 2009

Trail Blazer


Drawing a blank on what to post today...
until signing onto GOOGLE this morning.
The little artwork above their logo--I recognized.

Mary Cassatt


Born in Pennsylvania on May 22, 1844.
Her dream..."I want to be an artist."
She made her way to Paris at the age of 22.


Upon seeing one of her paintings, Degas remarked.
He couldn't believe it was the work of a woman.
Not only was Mary Cassatt female,
she wasn't even French!

(I picked this print up at a thrift store)

She painted what she knew best--life at home.
In the 1800s, it wasn't thought to be proper for well-brought up women to be seen by themselves at cafes, train stations, or even on city streets.
Cassatt didn't make people look better than they did in real life. An ungrateful relative once returned a portrait to her. The nose was too big! Painting children was a much better option. They might wiggle and squirm when she drew them, but at least they didn't complain about the size of their noses.

I learned about some of the Impressionist Painters
several years ago while co-teaching a
Home School art class on the subject.


So today we celebrate Mary Cassatt, an American woman,
who helped pave the way for creative, talented, and...
while all women. Thanks, Mary.

~Candy~

(click on the Show&Tell stamp to visit more)

11 comments:

Mommy said...

I LOVE Mary Cassett! TRUE ART in my humble opinion!

Cindy said...

I'll have to take a look at some of her art.
Thanks for sharing
Cindy

Dixie said...

I vaguely remember studying Mary Cassatt's work about 100-years ago.. but I didn't really retain much about her, nor her paintings... this is a beautiful reminder.. I love the last one of mother and child... just beautiful. I guess now that I'm older, I have a better appreciation...
have a wonderful weekend...

Sandi McBride said...

She is my favorite Lady Artist...after her I adore Grandma Moses...great post!
Sandi

Simply Heart And Home said...

I noticed that on Google this morning too! :)

Mary Cassatt has such lovely paintings.

Gina

{Bellamere Cottage} said...

Thanks for sharing that story and BEEEE-U-TI-FULLLLL paintings. What a wonderful artist! :-) And, lucky you to have a print.

Hugs,
Spencer

The Old Parsonage said...

What beautiful art and thanks for giving the history behind it.

Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful Show and Tell!! I love her work...just gorgeous!!
Thanks so much for paying tribute to this very talented artist~~~

LOVE your blog~!

Happy Friday!
~Lynn

Rebecca Nelson said...

Oh my gosh...I'm going to hunt some of this WOMAN'S stuff down.

The gall of some men...silly little boys...

Women are able...more than able to do all of what men do and more. This artist is a woman's woman! I love her!

Thanks for sharing. Thrift Store? I'm faint!

xoRebecca

Marjorie (Molly) Smith said...

I loved her work when we studied her in Art History. Next to her my favorite would have to be Georgia O'Keef.

i cant decide said...

I love her work. Thanks for the reminder. I'm going to pull my book down and look at some of my favorite paintings.