104

  • The Lamp

  • From the 1890-91 original
  • Mary Cassatt (American 1844-1926)
  • Color intaglio — aquatint, drypoint and soft-ground etching, published 1991 by the Bibliothèque Nationale
  • 32.4 x 25.3 cm., 12-3/4 x 10" image
  • Catherine Carter Goebel, Paul A. Anderson Chair in the Arts Purchase in Honor of Hollis Clayson, Professor, Northwestern University, Paul A. Anderson Art History Collection, Augustana College 2010.32

Essay by Emily Cox, Class of 2011

In 1890, Paris was dazzled by a large exhibition of Japanese graphic arts at the École des Beaux Arts. After viewing the exhibition, Mary Cassatt excitedly wrote to her friend and fellow female Impressionist, Berthe Morisot: "Seriously, you must not miss that. You who want to make colour prints you couldn't dream of anything more beautiful.You must see the Japanese — come as soon as you can" (Mathews 214). Cassatt was not only interested in Japanese items depicted within the works but in the style, composition and technique used.

Cassatt soon embarked on the creation of her own set of color prints à la japonaise. She was enthused by the bold linearity of the compositions and simple flat areas of evocative color. She was also inspired by the subject matter of the woodblock prints-the daily lives and ordinary activities of Japanese women. This focus on women in a domestic setting was not seen in European art at this time. The work of eighteenth-century Japanese master, Kitigawa Utamaro (1753-1806) who portrayed the lifestyle of courtesans in a series of prints titled The Twelve Hours in the Pleasure Quarter of Yoshiwara, might have been a conceptual and stylistic model for Cassatt's first set of prints. The Lamp is a print from this series entitled The Ten.

As with other prints in this set, elements of Japonisme appear in details such as the lamp table and the porcelain pottery arranged on it; the elegant angle of the nape of the woman's neck, a symbol of beauty in Oriental art; and the Japanese fan, a stylish fashion accessory. In addition to reflecting Japanese influence, The Lamp offers a glimpse into the intimate daily life experienced by late nineteenth-century women in simply depicting a woman at ease within her own home. Cassatt's focus on the normal everyday activities of women set her apart from other artists working in France at the time who reveled in the lavish entertainment culture of bourgeois Paris.

In addition to Japonisme, the organic curves of Art Nouveau, a popular turn of the century decorative style, might also be traced in the arc of the lampshade, bend of the chair, and turn of the fan. The lamp itself dominates the upper half of the print and evidences innovations in the late 19th century. Artistic response to new technological advances with lamplight in the City of Light bears further examination as illustrated in the 2010 Augustana guest lecture by Professor Hollis Clayson, Northwestern University, in whose honor this work was dedicated.

Edgar Degas, frequently a harsh critic but also a mentor, acknowledged Cassatt's success in this series by stating: "I will not admit that a woman can draw so well" (Gunderson 24). Indeed, this set demonstrates Cassatt's range of abilities as an artist as well as her perseverance in becoming a great and celebrated printmaker-not an easy task for a woman at the time. Her influences, including the Impressionists and Japanese ukiyo-e, allowed her to expand and grow into a modern and continually influential artist whose prints are still heralded today as a printmaking tour de force.