Cassatt Impressionist Period

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CassattImpressionist Period
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Maternal Kiss
Impressionist Art

• The impressionist movement began in the mid to
  late 1800s in France.
• Impressionist art is marked by visible
  brushstrokes, an emphasis on light and ordinary
  subject matter.
• Photography was gaining popularity
• Inspired candid poses.
• Inspired painters to extend their artistic
  expression beyond an exact copy of what the eye
  can see.
• Photographs were only black white then, so
  painters really concentrated on colors.
• Emphasis was on the vivid overall effect of the
  painting instead of the precise details of each
  object in the painting.

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Maternal Kiss

• How is this drawing the same as a photograph that
  someone might take of a mother kissing her child?
• Notice the pose, and the candid, immediate feel
  of the work.
• How is this drawing different from a photograph?
• Notice the visible lines in the drawing. The
  background is imperfect. You can clearly see
  that this is a drawing.

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The Bath
Mary Cassatt

• Mary Cassatt was born in 1844 in Pennsylvania.
  If she were alive today she would be more than
  160 years old.
• She was raised in a wealthy family and traveled
  quite a bit as she was growing up. She got to go
  to some of the greatest museums in the world
  where she was introduced to great art.
• Cassatts family did not want her to become an
  artist, but she really wanted to make her own way
  in the world and to support herself.
• At the time, women did not pursue careers at
  all. Some art schools would not allow women, and
  some art shows would not show womens artwork.
• Cassatt moved to Paris to study art with great
  artists. While in Paris, she became friends with
  the great impressionist artists of the time and
  learned from their work.
• What is happening in this painting?
• What colors do you notice?
• What about this painting is not perfect?
• Do you like this painting?

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Mother about to Wash her Sleepy Child

• Most of Cassatts paintings were of the private,
  daily lives of women.
• She often focused on the tender relationship
  between a mother and child.
• Interestingly, she never married or had children
  of her own. She never even seemed to want to
  marry.
• This painting is called Mother About to Wash her
  Sleepy Child. Does this baby look sleepy to
  you? What makes this baby look sleepy?
• Does this painting look like a photograph?
• What about it is like a photo and what about it
  is different?

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Little Girl in a Blue Armchair

• This is one of Cassatts most famous paintings.
• Tell me about the girl in the painting. How is
  she feeling? How can you tell?
• Notice that, again, Cassatt is more interested in
  bold colors and shapes than in perfectly
  depicting what her eyes can see. The patterns on
  the chair arent perfect, and you can see her
  brush strokes in her work.
• Do you like this painting even though its not
  perfect?
• Would you like it better if it showed everything
  exactly as it was like a photograph?

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Mother and Child

• This is another example of Cassatt depicting a
  mother and daughter scene.
• What is happening in this painting?
• Notice the bright colors.
• Notice the different mirrored reflections the
  little girls face in the hand mirror and the
  mother and daughter in the back mirror.
• What do you like about this painting?

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Art in Action!
Sleeping Baby

• Draw a picture of your mother and you on an
  ordinary day doing something that you usually do
  together. It can be any part of your day.
• Try to use an impressionistic style remember,
  it doesnt have to be perfect!

Suggested stories to read to the class Suzette
the Puppy A story about Mary Cassatt by Joan
Sweeny Mary Cassatt Impressionist Painter by
Lois Harris