Mary Cassatt 1845-1926

After the turn-of-the-century Mary Cassatt executed a group of vibrantly colored pastels depicting young girls in elaborate hats set against simple backgrounds. According to Nancy Mowll Mathews, “In the course of revising her approach to the mother and child theme, Cassatt embarked on a series of pastels, drawings and dry points of children that preoccupied her for the rest of her working career.  She had painted children many times before but there had always been an obvious incentive, either a portrait commission or contact with her young nieces and nephews.  This series seems to have had no such motivation.  Cassatt’s nieces were now older than her preferred child models, who appear to be five or six years old” (Mary Cassatt, New York, 1987, p. 125).  In 1894 Cassatt purchased a country home outside of Paris and children from the nearby town of Mesnil-Théribus were the primary subjects of her subsequent work.  Simone was one of Cassatt’s favorite local models, appearing in over twenty works from this period.

In Simone in Blue Plumed Hat, Cassatt employs her fully realized pastel technique, using opulent hues of blue and green to frame the soft pink of Simone’s face. The pigment is applied thickly in the child’s face and the arching plumes of her hat, while the background is comprised of broad slashing strokes of color.  Ms. Mathews writes, “Of all Cassatt’s works, these images of children have the greatest popular appeal.  They combine a number of the winning qualities of young girls--soft, satiny skin, ‘pretty’ features, guileless expressions, charmingly awkward poses, and the frilliness of their clothes.  Any surfeit of sweetness is counteracted by the masterly handling of every aspect.  Lighter and simpler than the mother and child compositions of this period, the pastels of children are without detailed backgrounds and are thus more directly engaging” (Mary Cassatt, p. 127).  By the 1890s pastel was Cassatt’s primary means of expression and her solid command of the medium is evident in the variety of line and surface treatment she uses to define the figure of Simone against a characteristic restrained background.   Pastel allowed Cassatt to demonstrate her accomplished draftsmanship while simultaneously displaying a rich layering of color and tone.