Impressionism and the use of Women in the 19th and 20th century

A product of William Merritt Chase’s studies in Munich during the late 18th century was an inspired palette. Surrounded by many impressionists, both european and american, he began to enjoy studying the techniques of gentle and simple brush strokes, landscapes and women. While studying this combination between the 18th century artist’s obsession with portraying women as gentle through either a muted color palette or a similar technique inspired by impressionists. The Seventeenth Century Woman, a piece with darker muted colors, a woman with her back turned towards the viewer, red hair, a seventeenth century white dress, standing in a dark room, on what looks like a stage with a sliver of light going down the wall in front of her. This color palette and technique was inspired by the great artists, Whistler, Sargent, Dewing, and Velasquez. Each of these artists have similar academic backgrounds, subjects and use of paint. Whether they are painting a beautiful landscape, a woman or an everyday scene on a road, each of these painters create a gentle rest for your eyes in the use of their similar muted color palette and light brush strokes with little to no use of line. Looking through these artist’s collections of paintings, their portrayal of women through their techniques create a sense of the idleness or show of women in the 19th century and even a subjectification of women as forms for not much of a purpose besides being a spectacle or everyday object which continued on into the 20th century.

William Merritt Chase, The Seventeenth Century Lady, 1895,  36 1/2 x 23 3/4in. (92.7 x 60.3cm), 06.1220

Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Woman in black, 1887, 48.3 x 31.1 cm. (19 x 12.2 in.) Private Collection

Dewing was a 20th century American Impressionist who was trained in Paris and one who used interesting colors to represent light and line. Included in the list of inspirational artists for Chase, Dewing focused on aristocratic women and many of his paintings include portraits of women sitting, walking and in gardens; a popular subject at the turn of the century. This painting inspired Chase’s Seventeenth Century Lady. The color palette, ambiguity of the scene and light brush strokes adds to the mystery and style that Chase, Dewing and other impressionists were after at the time. Similarly, the ambiguity of the woman reveals Dewings desire to showcase his painting techniques and mastery of paint by using a challenging palette but impressively capturing the illusion of shadows and light.

John Singer Sargent Study for “Spanish Dancer” 1882 11 13/16 x 7 7/8 in. (30 x 20.02 cm) Dallas Museum of Art

John Singer Sargent, an early American impressionist painter, was a portrait painter and a muse of Chase. This portrait of a Spanish Dancer was a small study that was eventually going to be done on a larger scale with a scene of men watching this woman dance. The palette, similar to The Seventeenth Century Lady, is muted, dark and uses cream as a central focus. The brush technique is something that adds to the identity of the woman. She is a dancer, she is for show, and her face is not important in this portrait which adds to the theme of the time, women being portrayed as objects and gentle through the unspecific brush strokes and lack of lines.

John White Alexander, Study in Black and Green, 1906, 50 x 40 1/8 in. (127 x 101.9 cm)

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At the turn of the century, one of the most popular subjects was this idle woman (Metmuseum). The exploration of impressionism was still popular even as the avant garde movement was quickly approaching. This painting’s brush strokes, unidentified face, and scene which appears to be in a house, is a perfect example of the theme during this time presenting women as objects, idle and subjects used by artists to master brush techniques.

James McNeil Whistler The Draped Figure, seated 1893, 17.3.194,  7 5/16 × 6 3/8 in. (18.6 × 16.2 cm) Sheet: 9 5/16 × 7 5/16 in. (23.7 × 18.6 cm)

Although a sketch, with no pallette, Whistler, a similar impressionist artist, and muse of Chase, used similar subjects, similar color palettes and similar techniques to show his light and less detailed style. This piece, a woman sitting, reveals this similar theme of women sitting, idle, used for the artist’s personal exploration of technique. The woman is treated like a still life used for artistic intent.

Willem de Kooning Woman 1966, 38 x 23 3/4 in. (96.5 x 60.3 cm), 1975.189.6

Willem de Kooning was an abstract expressionist painter focusing on painting being a language, an expression of an action, and a place to lay out his thoughts. Woman, is a documentation of an action, not a representation of a woman. The pallette is exciting with flesh tones to represent the body but the brush strokes are vague, large and sporadic. About 100 years after The Seventeenth Century Lady, de Kooning is continuing this theme, this painting is his expression of thought and action through painting a woman. He is using her as a subject to express himself, showcase his use of paint and technical talents with the brush. The woman is “in action” but the action is vague and purposeless.