Mary Cassatt was a formidable painter in her day; considering women artists were typically not well represented during that time in history. It was acceptable for women artists to paint the domestic life that women were expected to live. However, Cassatt bucked this convention by focusing on the social and private lives of women, emphasizing the unique bond between mother and child. Her famous painting, “The Child’s Bath” depicts a mother’s love and care of her child’s health.
Her style was impressionistic. However she challenged this style by painting in a more direct and honest approach than her peers, even though impressionists we’re viewed at that time as radicals. Known mostly for her portraits, her style was seen as unflattering to the female and was criticized for the unconventional honesty she depicted of her subjects in her paintings. Women were to be represented as domestics and seen as beautiful and angelic. She painted portraits of women and children that focused in on sharper angles and used bright colors, focusing on the private intimacy of women’s relationships. Mary Cassatt didn’t let the conventions of her time stifle her; she was a pioneer for women artists.
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