Mary Cassatt: American Impressionist-DVD
From Devine Entertainment
The story is of American artist Mary Cassatt in Paris in the last century. She was one of the Impressionists and a close friend of the great artist Edgar Degas (Thomas Jay Ryan). Cassatt (Amy Brenneman) is an intelligent, charming and fiercely independent artist with an ordered life in Paris, until her brother and his wife arrive with their three unruly kids. At first dreading the presence of the children, she soon finds herself inspired by them and even uses them as models.
Her teenage niece Katherine (Charlotte Sullivan), who believes that getting married is essential to positioning oneself in society, plays matchmaker between Cassatt and Edgar Degas. Though the match is not meant to be, Cassatt’s feminist ideals greatly influence Katherine and change her life forever and for the better. Likewise, the influence of the children soften Cassatt and inspire her to renew stronger contact with her family back in Philadelphia.
The Life and Times of Mary Cassatt (1844 - 1926)
Impressionism: originally a derogatory term coined by a journalist from Monet’s "Impression - Sunrise" (1874). It refers to the artistic impression of a scene that is painted at the same time the scene is observed, contrary to traditional means of doing sketches in the field and then completing the painting in a studio later.
Mary Cassatt is truly unique in the world of art and is a thoroughly modern role model for girls and women. Not only was she one of the few artists to achieve critical success in her lifetime, she was the only American invited to exhibit with the Impressionists in Paris. Her accomplishments came at a time when few women dared to pursue their passion and have a career.
Mary Cassatt was born to a wealthy family in Pennsylvania and by the age of 16, she had decided to devote herself to the study of art. She attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and left for Europe at age 22. By 1872, after studying in the major museums of Europe, she settled in Paris, where she remained for the rest of her life.
Cassatt was fascinated by contemporary art. Although the Paris Salon had accepted one of her early paintings, The Mandolin Player (1868), her subsequent entries were refused. Thus she veered away from the SalonÕs formal rules and regulations, preferring the creative freedom of the "Impressionists." In 1877, Cassatt was invited to join the Impressionists by Edgar Degas who became her lifelong friend. "I accepted with joy," she said later. "At last I could work with absolute independence... I hated conventional art." A few paintings by Cassatt reprise Degas style; Degas hung one of her oils prominently in his apartment.
Cassatt painted what she saw: interiors and gardens filled with the social activities of her family and friends. She gave life and meaning to the role of women. In 1888 she began her long series of mother and child portraits such as The Bath (1892). Both she and Degas became fascinated with printmaking, and Cassatt became an innovative printmaker reflecting a strong Japanese influence on her colours and configuration.
Her paintings were enormously popular in France, but Cassatt who considered herself "American" was largely ignored by America at the time, much to her disappointment. Today however, there is a strong resurgence of interest in her life and work. A major exhibition, "Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman" organized and launched at the Art Institute of Chicago, brings together a collection of 100 paintings, pastels, drawings and prints.
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