Everyone knows the names of famous Impressionists – Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir, Pissarro – but it is less well known that important women painters also belonged to their circle.
Berthe Morisot, a successful and admired colleague and close friend of and model for Manet, was highly praised by critics for her relaxed brushstroke as the “most Impressionistic of the Impressionists.”
The American artist Mary Cassatt developed her unmistakable style during her studies in Paris and through her close contact with Degas.
Eva Gonzalès, a student of Manet, left behind an oeuvre of great quality though limited quantity, as a result of her early death.
Marie Bracquemond exhibited with the Impressionists but began to compete with the work of her husband, Felix Bracquemond, and ultimately abandoned painting.
This exhibition included some 160 works from international museums and private collections and used the example of these four women painters to present the feminine contribution to the Impressionist movement.
Outstanding Review
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Exhibition schedule:
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, February 22-June 1, 2008
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, June 21–September 21, 2008
Catalogue
Exhibition view with Eva Gonzalès, "Le reveil", undated, Photo: Norbert Miguletz.
Berthe Morisot, Eugene Manet et sa Fille au Jardin, 1883, Oil on canvas, 60 x 73,5 cm. Private Collection.
Berthe Morisot, La fable, 1883, Oil on canvas, 65 x 81 cm. Private Collection.
Eva Gonzales, Interieur de Modiste, 1882/83, Oil on canvas, 38 x 46 cm. Privatsammlung USA, Courtesy Noortman Master Paintings.
Marie Bracquemond, Le Gouter, 1880, Oil on canvas, 81,5 x 61,5 cm. bpk / RMN / Musée d’Orsay / Bulloz.
Marie Bracquemond, Pots De Fleurs À Sèvres, c. 1880, Oil on canvas, 17,7 x 27,5 cm. Private Collection.
Mary Cassatt, Two Sisters, 1896, Pastel, 37,4 x 53,5 cm. Private Collection, courtesy of D. Nisinson Fine Art.
Mary Cassatt, Young lady Reading, c. 1878. Private Collection.
Mary Cassatt, American (1844–1926) Summertime, c. 1894 Oil on canvas.
The Armand Hammer Foundation
Marie Bracquemond, French (1840-1916) On the terrace at Sèvres,
1880 Oil on canvas. Private Collection
Eva Gonzalès, French (1849–1883) Portrait de Madame E.G.
(Emmanuel Gonzalès), Mere de l’artiste, 1869–70 Pastel on Paper.
Private Collection
Berthe Morisot, French (1841–1895) Intérieur, 1872 Oil on canvas. Private collection
Eva Gonzalès, French (1849–1883) A Loge in the Théâtre des Italiens, 1874 Oil on canvas. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Gift of Jean Guérard, the artist’s son, 1927.
Mary Cassatt, American (1844–1926) Portrait of
Katherine Kelso Cassatt/ Mrs. R.S. Cassatt, 1889 Oil
on canvas. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Mary Cassatt, American (1844–1926) Woman Reading
(Femme lisant), 1878–1879 Oil on canvas mounted on balsa
and masonite panel. Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska;
Museum purchase
Berthe Morisot, French, (1841-1895) Jeune Fille au chien, 1887 Oil
on canvas. The Armand Hammer Foundation
Mary Cassatt, American (1844–1926) Visitor in Hat and Coat Holding
a Maltese dog, ca. 1879 Oil on canvas. Private Collection
Mary Cassatt, American (1844–1926) Sara in a Large Flowered Hat,
Looking to the Right, Holding Her Dog, ca. 1901 Pastel. Private Collection
Berthe Morisot, French, (1841-1895) Jeune Femme au divan,
1885 Oil on canvas. Tate, Bequeathed by the Hon. Mrs.
A.E. Pleydell-Bouverie through the Friends of the Tate Gallery 1968
Mary Cassatt, American (1844–1926) Young Lady in a Loge
Gazing to Right, 1880 Pastel and gouache. Private collection