Women Artists

And the "forgotten Impressionist"

A WebQuest by Mary K. VanGieson

Germantown High School

 

Introduction

"Why have there been no great female artists?" is a question that has often been asked. One of the answers is that there actually have been some great women artists, including Berthe Morisot who is the "forgotten Impressionist."
This unit1 concerns outstanding female artists - past and present. You will learn about those artists, discover how difficult it was for women to create before the present time and gain a better appreciation for artists who painted outstanding works in spite of the less than encouraging atmosphere that surrounded them.

The Task

You will understand women artists from the following perspectives:

 

Resources

In early cultures, before individual names began to be so important, women created many works of art. Many ancient Greek and Roman weavers and potters were women. In the Middle Ages, Catholic nuns were one of the few groups of artists who were able to illuminate thousands of manuscripts and weave intricate tapestries.

The first American women artists were Native Americans who had been creating for centuries before Europeans arrived. They-like other female artists-almost exclusively produced domestic articles. They excelled in basketry, pottery, quillwork, and weaving. Early women settlers were encouraged to pursue "crafts"* like quilting and needlepoint, but discouraged from taking up the "fine arts" of painting and sculpture.

In 1785 Paris was becoming the art capital of the world. But this was not true for women artists. Not only were they not able to go to art school, but as women they were restricted in many ways. Nearly all women in early societies married, had many children, and spent most of their time raising them. They couldn't vote, own property, or go anywhere alone. A few women did become professional artists. The names Sofonisba Anguissola, Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Leyster, Mary-Louise-Vegee-Lebrun, Adelaide Labille-Guiard, Sarah Miriam Peale, Edmonia Lewis, Susan Macdowell Eakins, and Berthe Morisot, don't spring immediately to mind, but they were all successful artists of their time.

With beautiful museums such as the Musse d'Orsay which house Impressionist works we often forget that these Impressionist artists were considered rebellious. The Impressionist movement was good for women such as Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassett because the emphasis on everyday scenes painted quickly on small canvases legitimized the way women had always had to paint. The academic training that women had been denied was now obsolete. The acceptance of Impressionism gave women artists an opportunity to have their work recognized and taken seriously.

During the 20th century, women slowly began to gain more economic and political power. As self-expression became an important quality in many works of modern art, a few women artists, like Mexican Frida Kahol, began to gain some recognition. Today there are a growing number of women artists, many of whom continue to use the traditional form of the self-portrait to express themselves. For the past 20 years, photographer Cindy Sherman, has created hundreds of images of herself in different guises. In all of them, she comments on the part she feels the media plays in defining women's' roles in modern society. Like Berthe Morisot, contemporary women artists Faith Ringgold, Elizabeth Murray, and Alice Neel, oftentimes center their works on home and family. Murray uses bright primary colors and flat simple shapes to express the intense emotions of childhood.

The Process-Studio

Objectives

You will complete an acrylic painting of the figure in a balanced composition using an Impressionistic painting style. Keep in mind the various aspects of art.

Time-five hours (the final session will include display and critique)

Vocabulary*: abstract, background, balance, complementary, composition, contour, critique, focal point, foreground, Impressionism, middle ground, negative space, palette, positive space, picture plane, proportion, shade, shallow space, tint, value, visual texture

Materials

Procedure

Position the model in a pose that can be held for the entire session. Arrange plants and/or constructed objects around and behind the figure. Use a spotlight to create interesting values on the subject. When planning your composition, pay attention to the focal point, positive and negative space, background, middle ground and foreground and balance of the shapes. Use a shallow space approach and engage the entire picture plane.

With your ebony pencil carefully complete a modified contour drawing showing general details. Pay special attention to the proportions of the figure. Do a second drawing from another view. Select the drawing that has the potential to become the most visually interesting painting.

Use acrylic paints and a limited palette of three or four colors and white. Add white to a color to achieve tints and the complement of a color to create shades. Make your brush strokes loose and visible to create visual texture, but also consider the value of each shape. Step away from your work frequently to assess your progress.

The completed paintings will be displayed for critique during the final session.

Evaluation

Conclusion

This lesson has been concerned with the history, aesthetics, criticism, and art production of women artists both past and present. You have painted the figure in the Impressionist style of Berthe Morisot, researched the history of a woman artist, considered the aesthetics of a work of art and written a criticism on The Cradle. As a final thought, consider Morisot who died in 1895. Her death certificate reads, "Mme Morisot was without any profession."

 The Cradle by Berthe Morisot

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 1source: Scholastic Art Magazine, Nov. 1996, "Women Painters"