Japonism

I have mentioned before that many artists from the late-1800s were inspired by Japanese art. The influence of Japanese art on European and American art is called Japonism. I thought I’d tell you a bit more about it toady.

For a long time, Japan didn’t trade with Europe or America. They didn’t buy or sell food, fabrics, or anything else, including works of art. In the mid-1800s things changed in Japan. A new government came into power which allowed western ships into the country. And in 1868 Japanese ships began to take goods to Europe and America.

During this time, artists especially in France wanted to break away from traditional styles of art. When they saw Japanese art, many artists were struck by the bright colors, off-centered placement of subjects, and curved lines. Japanese artists cared about creating beautiful art that brought out emotion in the viewer. They did not care as much about creating realistic scenes.

Notice the curving lines of Gustav Klimt's Tree of Life.

Also notice the curved lines and the off-centered subject of Aubrey Beardsley's
Sometimes artists even included Japanese artworks into their own paintings. One example, shown below, is Vincent van Gogh’s Portrait of Pere Tanguy.

Other artists who where inspired by Japanese art include Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, and Edgar Degas.

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New York

I had a great time in New York City this weekend. The trip was tiring so I went straight to sleep when I got home last night. I had planned to post photos of some of the art I saw at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). I bet you'll be able to name that artist on your own...

In order: Paul Klee, Jackson Pollock, Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh

That final photo is a close-up of the corner of van Gogh's Starry Night. I noticed something about this painting and a few other van Gogh paintings that I had never noticed before. Look at the edge where the canvas meets the frame. The paint doesn't cover every inch of the canvas. And there are blank patches throughout the paintings. Weird. I had always thought that van Gogh layered the paint but obviously he did not.

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Create Your Own Cassatt-Inspired Portrait

Mary Cassatt became famous for her paintings of family life. She focused on women and children. What better Mother’s Day gift than a hand-drawn portrait of you and your mom, inspired by Mary Cassatt?

Supplies Needed:

Sheet of white paper (use heavy sketch paper if you use pastels)
Pastels or Crayons
Pencil with eraser
Plastic page protector
Construction paper
Glue stick

Begin by choosing a scene. Do you want to draw your mom playing with you in the park? Helping you with your homework? Maybe you and your mom went apple picking last fall. Or maybe you’ve been helping her tend the garden. If you need help deciding on a subject, have another adult help you choose a photograph to inspire you.

Gather your materials and begin sketching. If you have pastels, use them to color in your picture. Be careful with pastels because they smear. You can use this to your advantage by blending colors with a tissue. However, if your hand wipes across your picture you will have a bit of a mess. If you don’t have pastels or don’t wish to use them, crayons will do just fine. Don’t forget to sign your name!

When your drawing is perfect and colored in, slide it into a plastic page protector.

Now you can cut a paper frame out of construction paper and use a glue stick to attach it to the page protector.

When you give your mom her gift, tell her that you got your inspiration from Mary Cassatt. She will be very impressed!

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Mary Cassatt

In celebration of Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 11), I thought I would tell you about a female American Impressionist who is known for her paintings of family life: Mary Cassatt.

Cassatt was an extraordinary woman. Born in 1844, she painted in a time when there were very few professional women painters. In fact, she worked in a time when women of wealthy families usually did not work. Cassatt wanted to paint. She wanted to be respected and admired for her talent as an artist. And she wanted to be able to live on the money she earned painting. These goals were difficult to achieve.

Mary Cassatt was born in Pennsylvania. She began school when she was six. Her family believed that travel was important for her education and so she lived in Europe for five years when she was a child. She visited many important cities including Paris, France and London, England. Sounds like a nice way to get an education.

Cassatt studied art at the Pennsylvania academy of Fine Arts but she was not taken seriously. There were not many women at the school and those who did study were not treated equally to the men. She left the academy and moved to Paris where she hired a painter to teach her privately.

While in Paris, Cassatt went to the Louvre everyday to copy the works of the masters. You’ll remember the picture I showed you of someone painting at the great museum.

In 1868, Cassatt showed a painting at the Paris Salon. The Paris Salon was a huge exhibition of all the most impressive paintings of the day. The art was chosen by a jury (the way the contestants on American Idol are chosen). During this time, the Impressionists were struggling in Paris. The Salon did not recognize their art and did not allow them to show at the exhibition.

Her painting did not sell at the Paris Salon and Cassatt returned home to Pennsylvania. She was frustrated and worried that she would never earn a living as an artist. But she was bored at home and itched to return to Europe to view the art and to create her own. Cassatt’s big break came when the Archbishop of Pittsburgh asked her to create copies of two paintings in Italy. He paid for her travel and supplies. When the paintings were finished, he purchased those, also.

When she was Italy, she had time to create some original paintings as well. Her painting, Two Women Throwing Flowers During Carnival, was accepted at the 1872 Paris Salon. This painting sold! The money allowed her to travel some more before settling in France.

Cassatt continued to show at the Paris Salon when her work was accepted by the jury. As a woman, though, she was not treated fairly and could not depend on being allowed to show her art. Finally, in 1877, Cassatt joined the Impressionists. She stood out as a fine artist and became well known throughout Paris.

One Impressionist had a huge impact on her. Edgar Degas, whose ballerina sculpture you’ll remember, taught Cassatt to use pastels. She became a master pastel artist.

Cassatt showed her work with the Impressionists for more than ten years. She was part of the first Impressionist show in America. In 1886 her style grew and changed. New styles were taking shape in the art world and Cassatt went in her own direction.

It was after her years as an Impressionist that Cassatt painted the pieces she is most known for today. Her paintings of family life and the private lives of women are realistic but the scenes are tender and loving. See for yourself:

The Child's Bath

Two Children at the Seashore

Mother Combing Her Child's Hair

Cassatt became sick but didn’t stop painting until she was nearly blind. When she couldn’t paint anymore, she worked for women’s right to vote. She died in 1926.

I'm off to New York City for the weekend to visit some friends. 'Tis the season for travel, it seems (and I love it). But not to worry. Blogger has a great new feature that posts automatically! So you can look forward to a Mother's Day project tomorrow.

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Frida Kahlo

Yesterday I mentioned Diego Rivera’s wife, Frida Kahlo. For a long time she was better known as Rivera’s wife than as an artist in her own right. After her death, though, she became very well known around the world. Several movies have been made about her and many books have been written. Today, you’ll learn about Frida Kahlo, the artist.

Kahlo was born in Mexico in 1907. Her life was a painful one. Even as a child she saw suffering and fighting all around her. Her parents argued a lot and were not happy together. Furthermore, the Mexican Revolution for independence from Spain began in 1910. Fighting continued for 10 years. The revolutionaries (the people fighting for Mexico) sometimes hopped the fence around Kahlo’s house and stayed for a meal and a safe night’s sleep.

It was a painful experience that led Kahlo to paint. She was studying medicine until she was in a terrible bus accident. She broke nearly every bone in her body and had stay in bed for a long time. Kahlo’s mother set up a special easel and Kahlo learned to paint. It was one of the only activities she could do from her bed. During this time she painted a lot of self-portraits. She painted more than 50 self-portraits over the course of her life. Look at this self-portrait from 1930 and this self-portrait from 1937

Kahlo was inspired by Mexican Indians, as Diego Rivera was, and she used bold colors. She painted realistic scenes but she was influenced by surrealism. For an example, look at Four Inhabitants of Mexico. Many of her paintings are quite disturbing. Because her life was painful, pain showed up in her art.

In 1929, as you know, Kahlo married Diego Rivera. Their relationship began as a friendship. Kahlo liked Rivera’s art and asked him to help her with hers. About a year later they were married.

Kahlo continued to paint until she became too sick. She created nearly 150 paintings. Frida Kahlo died in 1954.

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