Mary Cassatt
American, 1844-1926
Summertime, 1894
oil on canvas
29 7/8 in x 39 1/2 in.
Michael Armand Hammer and the Armand Hammer Foundation
Loan
Mary Cassatt, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
RESEARCH PAPER
Mary Cassatt was born and raised in Pennsylvania, but settled in France. She was not only an accomplished artist, but also exceptionally independent for her generation. Coming from a well-to-do banking family, she was well educated, a women’s rights supporter, and an intellectual.
While famous for her paintings of mothers and children, she never married or had children because her desire to become a painter took precedence. In order to be a painter at a time when women painters were not encouraged, Mary Cassatt negotiated not only personal challenges but also the conventional ideas of acceptable behavior for women of her time. For example, as a woman, she frequently had to be escorted despite a proven capability to manage on her own.
Furthermore, as a woman, she was excluded from attending the atelier schools for art in Paris, so she arranged to have private lessons. She took the initiative to spend time in Seville studying Velasquez whom she admired greatly, in Antwerp studying Rubens, and in Italy to study Caravaggio and Parmigianino, in particular. Solely through her own momentum, she amassed a comprehensive knowledge of art across many periods and countries.
In the late 19th century, Paris was the world’s epicenter for art. There were 1,800 American artists studying in Paris at that time. Mary decided to live permanently in Paris in 1875, willingly renouncing her family allowance as her father made one last unsuccessful attempt to convince her to move back to Pennsylvania and get married.
She had already enjoyed some success in Paris. Her early traditional paintings were accepted four years in a row to be part of the Salon de Paris’ exhibitions, arguably the greatest art event in the Western world during that period; however, as her work and style developed, she began to deviate from accepted conventions, and subsequently her entry in 1877 was rejected by the state sponsored Salon.
It was then that an admirer of hers, Edgar Degas, asked her to exhibit with a group of impressionist painters who had also been rejected. That group included Monet, Degas, Renoir, Caillebotte, and Pissarro. As such, Cassatt was one of 3 women who ever exhibited with the Impressionists (the other two were Berthe Morisot and Marie Braquemond) and the only American.
The most influential artist on Mary’s art and career was Edgar Degas who was ten years her senior. While Degas and Cassatt are clearly associated with Impressionism because of their interest in the effect of light on a subject, their imaginative use of color and their rapid brushwork to “capture the feeling of the moment,” they differed from the other members in important ways. Cassatt and Degas were more interested in the figure, particularly women. The women that Degas painted tended to be prostitutes and dancers whereas Cassatt’s were mostly family members or professional models posing as mothers and children.
Landscapes that captivated many of the Impressionists were not as important for Degas and Cassatt. Neither of them ever abandoned form or the use of line entirely, and they also both experimented with mixed media. The Ukiyo-e genre of Japanese woodblocks was admired by the Impressionists, who integrated key aspects of those works into their paintings. Cassatt took it one step further and made printmaking a central part of her art career.
In 1894 Mary Cassatt bought the Chateau de Beaufrense northwest of Paris. The grounds included a reflecting pond, and it is then that she painted “Summertime,” marking her return to easel painting after a four-year break focused on other artistic endeavors.
There are two works entitled “Summertime,” the smaller one at SBMA. Though smaller, the painting is considered a complete work, not a draft for the larger one. In the painting of a woman and a young girl who are casually sitting in a boat while gazing at the water and feeding ducks, the viewer can enjoy an exquisite culmination of Cassat’s full artistic capabilities.
The work’s impressionist technique is reflected especially in the brushwork and generous use of color. The overall vigorous brushwork gives the viewer a sense of immediacy. Her varied application of paint from leaving a bare canvas to depict parts of the water and the shoreline to the white impasto applied to enhance the ducks and the top of the woman’s hat reveals the dexterity of a true master. The mingling of the blue, green, and violet ripple of colors across the large expanse of the pond effectively establishes the feeling of refreshing cool water on a sweltering summer day. The staccato brushstrokes close to the boat suggest the gentle lapping of water. The ambient warm temperature can be inferred by the light summer dresses and hats worn by the ladies.
The Japanese influence is reflected by the very choice of topic: “women at leisure.” Furthermore, the pond takes up almost the entire frame of the painting and the exceptionally high horizon of the water line creates a vertical and flattening perspective. That and the cropping of the boat are both reminiscent of features found in Japanese wood prints. Furthermore, it is possible that Cassatt’s reference for “Summertime” may have been a 1757 ukiyo-e print triptych “Sumida River Ferry” by Torri Kiyanaga.
The minimally painted landscape in the uppermost portion of the painting appears almost unfinished, making sure our focal point stays on the white ducks and the carefully executed sunlit highlights on the women. The weight of the woman at the front of the boat pushes the boat slightly closer to the water, further emphasizing that area of the painting and providing a central sense of gravity.
The merits of this painting are so outstanding that they place “Summertime” solidly as one of Mary Cassatt’s greatest masterpieces.
Prepared for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Docent Council by Darcie Burk, 2024.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
American Girls Art Club in Paris (2014. November 25). “Mary Cassatt’s Chateau de Beaufresne”.
https://americangirlsartclubinparis.com/2014/11/25/mary-cassatts-chateau-de-bea ufresne/
Gruitrooy, Gerhard. “Mary Cassatt An American Impressionist.” 1996. Todtri, New York.
Jones, Kimberly A, “Degas Cassatt.” 2014. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Numata, Hideko. “Summertime Conversations with the Collection”.
https://conversations.terraamericanart.org/artworks/summertime/
Pollock, Griselda. “Mary Cassatt Painter of Modern Women.” 1998. Thames and Hudson, Ltd. London.