The Artistic Relationship between Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt - Essay Example

? THE ARTISTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDGAR DEGAS AND MARY CASSATT The Artistic Relationship between Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt Introduction Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt are renowned artists for having designed sensational pieces of arts especially sculptures and paintings. The artists are renowned of painting on the common themes of the society. Edgar Degas based most of his paintings on dance and nudity of women. Even though Edgar Degas is referred to as an impressionist, he considers himself a realist even though his works fits both the categories1. Conversely, Mary Cassatt emphasized on painting about social as well as the private lives of women in the society. In her works, Mary Cassatt is particular on the intimate bond manifested between the mother and the child2. The two artists that is, Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt had distinct relationships in arts besides their actual relationships. The relationships are attributed by the themes onto which each of them emphasized in their pieces of art. However, the subject has an element of complexity in its demonstration and a critical analysis of the content of the artistic works would perform a fundamental role of exposing the sense of relationship in this scenario. The two artists base their works on main issues occurring in the society. It is obvious that the works displayed by the two artists are related in various perspectives1. Therefore, this research seeks to establish the relationship between Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt artistic works. Throughout this exercise there will be analysis of four different artistic pieces from the two artists. There will be a selection of two paintings of Edgar Degas and two pieces from Mary Cassatt pieces of art. The first pair of artistic pieces to be analyzed for relationship in this scenario are Ballerina and Lady with a Fan by Edgar Degas and At the Opera by Mary Cassatt. In the Ballerina and Lady with a Fan, Edgar Degas portrays a woman sitting in front in a balcony watching dancers perform. This painting exhibits an exceptional proficiency possessed by the artist. The painting manifests three levels of viewing3. In the first instance, the viewers of the painting find themselves fixed in the position of the actual audience in the theatre. The second level now directly concerns the image and there is a woman displayed as one of the audience who is also watching the performance by the dancers. The third level depicts the actual performing dancers in the stage and of whom all the attention is geared. Edgar utilizes different artistic styles in ensuring an effective visualization by the appreciators. There is effective harmonization of the light, color and shadows. All these attributes to the observable quality appreciated in the painting2. There is a distinction between the leader of the dance group who is in a light orange dress and is in front of the other dancers who are in green gowns with red stripes4. In Mary Cassatt’s, At the Opera the image also dominate a significant portion of the painting. The piece exhibits a woman seated alone in the balcony to observe performance in a theatre. The woman has a long black dress that covers her body properly from the lower part of her neck till the feet. The proper woman also has gloves on her hands and a black hat. These leaves only the face and few parts of the hands exposed for the public view. The woman has a pair of binoculars with which she uses to capture the performance explicitly in the hall4. According to the prevailing trends of this period, the paintings have a close relationship ranging from the way they are exposed to the actual meanings depicted by the pieces. The two paintings relate specifically in dominance, meaning and spectatorship. In the first painting and that is Ballerina and Lady with a Fan, we can consider the spectatorship and we can endeavor querying the exposure of the woman and her capacity to regulate or dispute the situation5. The woman seated at the balcony is viewed by other spectators most of which are men. The woman has most of her body parts exposed such as the hands, bosom and the entire head. The woman has no power to avoid this since she is seated in front and her clothing does not cover such sensitive parts of the body that can be regarded as being sexual6. According to the sitting arrangements during this period, the women were meant to sit in the front seats with men in the back. This exposed full view of women to the men at the back. Concerning the other work by Mary Cassatt, the woman is also in a position to be viewed by the men during the observation of the performance however; she is in control of the situation since she covers most parts of her body. This is also an excellent allusion of the situation and the prevailing trends of the times6. During the impressionist period, the aspect of male chauvinism was dominant and there was a struggle amongst the women for a mere equality. Men triumphed most of the events and activities whilst women were perceived as only being sexual and were also meant to be submissive to the male gender. Only female from higher classes would dare to compete men in their endeavors. This situation is observable in these paintings; the painting by Mary Cassatt depicts a powerful woman who perfectly manages the situation. Regarding the male dominance, the woman is seated next to a place policed by men especially on the right, there is a man depicted manning the entrance. Therefore, the paintings relate in depiction of the position of women in the society. In fact the paintings are perfect impressions7. The next pair of paintings by the artists to be analyzed are The Blue Dancers by Edgar Degas and Maternal Caress by Mary Cassatt. The two paintings have got observable relationships besides the message the artists intended to convey. The Blue Dancers depict a portrait of four girls in the act of dancing. The artist utilizes various brush strokes to manifest the ladies in motion as per the desire. The central image is portrayed in a close range to endure that the viewers have an explicit observation of the actual event. The girls are in light blue gowns with bare shoulders. The type of dance displayed by the girls tends to “arouse” the audience in a number of ways. The image has been claimed to be one of the sexiest paintings of the artist and have been observed to have achieved the desires efficiently8. In the Maternal Caress, a mother is depicted playing with her baby. There is a park manifested in the background of the painting. The painting shows two of the most significant facets in portraits. Emotions of the two characters in the portrait are depicted. The mother is shown playing happily with the baby. Moreover, the baby is shown laughing to mean that it is pleased with whatever the mother is doing to her9. Beauty is manifested in this portrait through the beautiful hair, jovial face, clean clothing and body. As per the derivation of the name, there is a good care by the mother delivered to the baby. The maternal caress is pleasant to the baby and extends to the viewers. These two works relate and are relevant to each other. In the first painting, The Blue Dancers, the woman is depicted as a sign of beauty and a source of happiness among other people in the society. It is through the women that people can actually find happiness and sense of romance. The image together with other paintings can also depict that women are sources of attraction that other people can find satisfaction and visual pleasure. In the dance, women are used as the dancers and most of the audiences are males. Then the translation of the scenario is that multitudes of people turn up for the performance10. In the second painting depicting the Maternal Caress, the baby is very happy and laughs in pleasure. They are only two beings in the portrait and this means that the mother is the sole source of her happiness and beauty. Again, the two portraits have a significant relationship with relevance to the impression aspect. Men conceive different impression when they set look on women as compared to what the women perceive in themselves11. The males who are dominant in this society only consider the women physical conformation into what they refer to as a source of beauty and what they readily admire and yearn for. Conversely, the women perceive themselves as being jovial, caring and capable of creating happiness in the society (Rabinow et al, 2006, p. 151). Conclusion According to the above evaluations, proves and postulations, Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt’s artistic works have a critical relationship considering different perspectives. This research achieved its sole purpose of exposing the relationship in the artistic works of the two artists. Therefore, this concurs with the notion that the artists utilize different means and through their work to convey different messages to their audience and other appreciators12. Appendix Edgar Degas Edgar Degas Self Portrait Ballerina and Lady with a Fan The Blue Dancers Mary Cassatt Mary Cassatt Self Portrait A woman in black at the opera Maternal Caress Bibliography Armstrong, Carol. 2003. Odd man out readings of the work and reputation of Edgar Degas. Los Angeles, Calif: Getty Research Inst [u.a.]. Junker, Patricia, and Will Gillham. 2001. An American collection: works from the Amon Carter Museum. New York: Hudson Hills Press. Noble, Marty. 2000. Color your own Mary Cassatt masterpieces. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. Ohana, David. 2010. The futurist syndrome. Brighton [England]: Sussex Academic Press. Rabinow, Rebecca A., Douglas W. Druick, and Maryline Assante di Panzillo. 2006. Ce?zanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, patron of the avant-garde. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Venezia, Mike. 2000. Edgar Degas. New York: Children's Press. Read More