Cassatt impresses with family brushstrokes

Author: Dorothy Mitchell

Tired of tombs and temples at the Middlebury College Museum of Art? Bored with the black-and-white photography in Johnson? On view at the Shelburne Museum (Rt. 7 North) until October 21 is an exhibit entitled "Mary Cassatt: Friends and Family." On display are drawings, prints, pastels and oils of, not surprisingly, family members and friends of the American painter.

The foundation of the exhibit rests upon the strong friendship formed between Cassatt (1844-1926) and Louisine Havemeyer. Their friendship began when Cassatt, then a struggling professional artist in Paris, gave Havemeyer a tour of the Paris art world during Havemeyer's studies there. While Cassatt's fame as an artist grew, so did Havemeyer's fame as a collector. Not only was Havemeyer a patron of Cassatt, but her daughter Electra went on to found the Shelburne Museum.

Cassatt, who was also a close friend (and perhaps something more) of Edgar Degas, began working in the impressionist style in the 1870s. It was not until the 1880s that she began painting the intimate family themes for which she became famous, especially her many "mother and child" portraits.

The exhibit begins with some simple drawings of Cassatt's family members engaged in everyday domestic activities. Later comes a variety of familial scenes in drypoint, pastel and oil. Many of the pastels and oils are marked by a sketchy, unfinished quality at the edges, although other works later in the show are more complete. Cassatt uses drypoint (a complicated printing technique that she mastered and adapted) to show sensitive renderings of the facial expressions of mothers and children. She also uses pastel and oil to great effect in capturing the color and texture of the puffy, flowy gowns and ribbons that adorn her mostly female subjects. The exhibit even includes a few such costumes.

One section of "Friends and Family" includes paintings of young girls. These paintings are described as universal childhood scenes rather than portraits, as Cassatt reserved her intimate portraits for close friends and family. Don't miss the endearing little colored drypoint "Margot Wearing a Bonnet" (ca. 1902), showing a young girl with a winsome smile.

Another section includes portraits that testify to the close relationship between Cassatt, Havemeyer and her family. In one surprising portrait of Louisine, the woman's bright dress, white with impressionistic brushstrokes of color, stands out far more than her muted but realistically rendered face. Later portraits of mothers and children are notable for their beautiful and brilliant colors, especially images set outdoors. In "Augusta Reading to her Daughter" (1910), the bright shades of green in the background glow against the shimmering pinks of the women's dresses. Scenes such as these brought Cassatt her greatest success and fame.

The second to last part of the exhibit includes a Claude Monet work as well as some Degas sculptures and ballerina paintings from the Havemeyer collection. The last room displays the Japanese-inspired prints for which Cassatt was also known. Based on Japanese compositions as well as textiles, these colored drypoints and aquatints showcase a style very different from the pastels and oils. Dark lines that define the subjects replace sketchy brushstrokes in these images, which still maintain themes of friendships between women and interactions between mothers and their young children. These works are proof of the popularity of Japanese art and textiles at the time both Europe and in the United States.

Although the exhibit is certainly no "greatest hits" collection, every viewer should find something to relate to in Cassatt's charming and iconic portraits. Certain works stand out for their colors, their expertly captured facial expressions or their timeless representation of the daily loving tasks of mothers. Students, have your parents take you for fall family weekend and explore the rest of the museum while you are here - the Kalkin House (on the way to the Webb Gallery where the Cassatt exhibit is housed) is a fascinating contemporary exhibition space that is well worth a glance.

The Shelburne Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until Oct. 26. Admission costs $18 for adults, $13 for students, reduced price for children and half-off for Vermont residents.