R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed on + 1453 more book reviews
Love this little read! It is obvious that the author, Gouveia Georgette, is an admirer of this great artist. An American born of wealthy parents, she becomes attached to the French impressionists - one of two women accepted into the group. Like many, my recollections about Cassatt bring images of women and children. Georgette quickly dispels that one! Cassatt's first success was with genre paintings which show people doing something rather than sitting for a portrait. The first was 'The Mandolin Player' and while it was not the last, two others are equally appealing - 'Bacchante' and 'Torredor'. Except for her renditions of children, her subjects do not look at the artist. Their eyes, their minds and thoughts are elsewhere. I did not like the technique 'Sound Byte' used throughout the book as it doesn't seem to fit the topic of a Victorian artist nor do I always agree with the interpretation of what the subjects might be thinking. However, the works included are enchanting and the descriptions of the works equally so. Certainly Mary Cassatt was an individual and an artist many would have loved to know, including me.
