By Laurence Madeline

“The text is scholarly but accessible, and beautiful color plates are divided into themes (e.g., “Self Portraits,” “Lives of Women,” etc.).”—Library Journal

“This beautiful exhibition catalogue includes reproductions of the paintings, useful artist biographies, and six essays that provide context and analysis. These enrich our understanding of the obstacles, the training, the influences, and the communities of women artists who participated in the cultural life of the Impressionist ‘capital of the nineteenth century.’”—Margot Irvine and Anna Sutton, Nineteenth-Century French Studies

In the second half of the 19th century, Paris attracted an international gathering of women artists, drawn to the French capital by its academies and museums, studios and salons. Featuring thirty-six artists from eleven different countries, this beautifully illustrated book explores the strength of these women’s creative achievements, through paintings by acclaimed Impressionists such as Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot, and extraordinary lesser-known artists such as Marie Bashkirtseff, Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz, Paula Modersohn-Becker, and Hanna Pauli. It examines their work against the sociopolitical background of the period, when women were mostly barred from formal artistic education but cleverly navigated the city’s network of ateliers, salons, and galleries. Essays consider the powerfully influential work of women Impressionists, representations of the female artist in portraiture, the unique experiences of Nordic women artists, and the significant presence of women artists throughout the history of the Paris Salon. By addressing the long-undervalued contributions of women to the art of the later 19th century, Women Artists in Paris pays tribute to pioneers who not only created remarkable paintings but also generated momentum toward a more egalitarian art world.

Hardcover
288 pages
Yale University Press, 2017
11.2 x 9.8 x 1 inches
ISBN 9780300223934
Art History, Women Artists