Berthe Morisot (French, 1841 - 1895), Self-Portrait, 1885
Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris, 6022.
Experience the impressive creative output of 19th century female artists in Her Paris: Women Artists in the Age of Impressionism, this fall at the Denver Art Museum. The luminous pieces showcased here capture the play of light across a wheat field, the rich fall of drapery, the camaraderie of friends at a cafe, the love between mother and child. Often overshadowed by male Impressionists, Her Paris gives these female trailblazers their due. A traveling exhibition organized by the American Federation of Arts, Her Paris features over 80 paintings, by 37 women artists, including Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt.
The exhibit highlights the ways in which these artists created opportunities to thrive artistically, despite the social restrictions placed on women in 19th century Paris. Because of their sex, many doors in the academic art world were closed to these artists. Instead of letting that stop them, they created their own academies, exhibitions and organizations to support and promote their work. “The works on display in Her Paris are powerful examples of the technical and stylistic achievements of these women who had to overcome gender-based limitations that prevented their full participation in the artistic community, and a societal reluctance to accept their professional ambitions,” said Angelica Daneo, curator of painting and sculpture at the DAM. “This is not an exhibition about recreational endeavors, but about art as a professional pursuit, a driving passion to which these notable artists devoted their life.”
Her Paris: Women Artists in the Age of Impressionism is on view at the Denver Art Museum through January 14th, 2018.
Visit the website for more information, or to purchase tickets.
The show will travel next to the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky in February, and on to its final destination at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts in June.
