translated and summarized by: Liz Wollner-Grandville,
210408: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt - Women Impressionists
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt: Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalés, Marie Bracquemond – Women Impressionists
Gender and genius
“Impressionism is feminine” – Frankfurt’s Schirn Halle is currently showing works created by the Impressionist painters Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalés, and Marie Bracquemond. Have the art history books possibly missed out on the fact that towards the end of the 19th century art was also a woman’s matter?
Frankfurt definitely did not have to discover any of the four painters, as none of them had ever been forgotten. Berthe Morisot, sister-in-law and model for Edouard Manet, was a successful and admired colleague among the Impressionists. Just like Mary Cassatt; both created a monumental oeuvre during their time. Cassatt, in comparison to Morisot, did without her parent’s financial support and a marriage – all for the sake of artistic liberty and independence. Her graphics series, which was inspired by Japanese woodcarvings, represents one of the most interesting artistic chronicles of a woman’s everyday life towards the end of the 19th century. Eva Gonzales, Manet’s only female student, died at an early age and left an oeuvre of great quality. Marie Bracquemond was at the brink of abandoning her painting to work with her husband, the porcelain painter and graphic illustrator Felix Bracquemond. But her work impressed him and she continued.
If the show in Frankfurt would have abstained from using the feministic jargon of the 70’s, this could have turned out to be a delightful exhibition. After regarding Rosa Bonheur’s paintings, Empress Eugénie pointed out that “La genie n’a pas de sexe” – genius has no gender; and this was said an entire generation before the four women Impressionists were even discovered…
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
60311 Frankfurt am Main, Römberg, until 01.06.08
www.schirn.de
210408
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
60311 Frankfurt am Main, Römerberg
Email: welcome@schirn.de
http://www.schirn.de
Öffnungszeiten: Di - So 11.00-19.00 Uhr, Mi - Sa 11.00-22.00 uhr
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
60311 Frankfurt am Main, Römerberg
Email: welcome@schirn.de
http://www.schirn.de
Öffnungszeiten: Di - So 11.00-19.00 Uhr, Mi - Sa 11.00-22.00 uhr