Who is Marie Bracquemond?

Ah, a new year. A brand new start. This past year I resolved to get rid of stuff from the house and studio, which I did. This year's resolution is to keep my calendar a bit more sane to give me more time to draw and paint my own projects.

Speaking of painting, this month I'd like to discuss another Impressionist great, but who no one ever talks about:  Marie Bracquemond. So far, I have found it to be amazing that such talented women were historically ignored within the Impressionism movement.

Journalist, art critic and  historian, Gustave Geffroy,  referred to Marie Bracquemond as one of  les trois grande dames--the other two being Mary Cassatt and Bethe Morisot. Unfortunately, Marie's story is the most tragic in the end.

Marie began her life  in humble means near Quimper, Brittany, a town known for its artistic ceramics. I was there just two years ago and was very impressed with the work that is still done to this day (not outsourced to China--yet). But it wasn't in Quimper that Marie started her art career but in a town on the outskirts of Paris, where her family finally settled. She studied under an art restorer, M. Wassar and by the time she was 17, Marie was entering and exhibiting at the government run exhibit, The Salon.

Marie also studied under the famous artist,  Jean-Auguste Ingres  (1780- 1887) and was considered one of his most intelligent students. She began to receive commissions, one of which included the court: the Empress wanting a portrait of Cervantes while in prison,

While at the Louvre, serving as a copyist, she met her future husband Felix Bracquemond. There were engaged for two years and them married in 1869. A year later she gave birth to their beloved son, Pierre.

Felix was and still is a well-known artist, specializing in etching, printing and decorative painting. In fact, he is more well known than Marie and wanted to keep it that way (more on that later). He became the artistic director of  Haviland, a company started by an American, which  became famous for their porcelain pieces. Although Marie wasn't interested in decorative painting or etching, she did produce some work with her husband. But her true love was painting.

Through her husband, Marie was introduced to the Impressionist group and she embraced their use of color, outdoor painting and large canvases. She participated in their independent exhibitions in 1879, 1880, 1886. Much of her color influence came from Gauguin. A few of her drawings were published in the French journal Modern Life in the late 1880's and she also exhibited her paintings in the Dudley Gallery in London.

Except for the portrait shown above of her son, I was unable to find Marie's earliest works.  In the Louvre, they have several of her drawings(see above), which shows her excellent draftsmanship. The bulk of her work on the Internet is of her Impressionistic period with many painting done from her garden in Sèvres.

As I have discussed in classes and workshops, artists will often do studies before they paint their final. I was fortunate enough to find a study done by Marie of her painting,  Three Graces (also referred to as Three Women with Umbrellas). I love looking at studies and then seeing how the artist make changes. I like both versions actually,  but I have to say her final is much more delicate with its high influence of light.

Three Graces

Study of Three Graces

So what happened to Marie? Why don't we ever hear about her and her accomplishments? Well, according to her son, Felix was rather jealous of her success. He was also an overbearing husband who didn't approve of her impressionistic methods. He badgered her so much that she finally gave up painting by 1890. She died in 1916, which means she didn't lift a paint brush again for 26 years.  

I can't even imagine how she must have felt. That's why I say that she is the most tragic of the three female artists we have studied so far. Giving up painting for me would be like giving up breathing. It's so much a part of my life. What a sad ending.

Here are a couple more of her paintings:

Tea Time

Woman in White

Next month, I'll cover the life of Eva Gonzales, another Impressionist and student of Manet.

Upcoming Events in January

New Classes | January Workshops

PCC Workshops: Sylvania Campus
Saturday, January 12 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Basic Drawing  $45
Afraid to draw? Here's your chance to learn how. If you can write your ABCs, I can teach you to draw within a couple of hours. It's a skill, plain and simple. Material fee: $20

Saturday, January 26Visual Journaling Mixed Media and Collage $45
New: Learn basics to Zentangle® 
Journaling is a great way to express yourself. Come to this workshop with only your sketchbook. I supply everything else: paper, paints, pen and ink, glue, patterns and so much more. Material fee: $20

-------------------------------------------------------------

Glastonbury Studios Classes
Please note: 6-Week Session begins week of January 6ends the week of February 10
Tuesday evenings $70/session
7-9 p.m.
Drawing Wild Animals/Mixed media


Wednesday mornings $70/session10 to 12 noon
Sketch’n on the Go™
Botanical Sketching, mixed media

Visual Journaling $70/session
1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Collage, Pen & Ink, Painting
New this session: Learnng Zentangle®All supplies provided except sketchbook
Drop in: $20 per class



Thursday evenings $80/session
6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Intermediate /Vincent Van Gogh

December 2012 Newsletter: Berthe Morisot

[My desire] is limited to wanting to capture something that passes; oh, just something! the least of things. And yet that ambition is still unreasonable! A distinctive pose of Julie, a smile, a flower, a fruit, the branch of a tree, and every once in a while a more vivid reminder of my family, just one of these would suffice.    Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)

Self-portrait, 1885

As you probably already know, we have been studying the Impressionists in our Thursday evening acrylics class. We have learn a lot by observing their styles and techniques, then putting that knowledge to work with brush and canvas.  I have grown to adore this period in art. Not only were these artists courageous to buck the art establishment, they were also intensively creative. One such member is someone you probably never heard of before, although she sold more paintings  in her 54 years of life than Monet, Renoir, and Sisley.[1] Her name is Berthe Morisot, the first woman to join the Impressionists in 1874.

Born into a weathy family that had an artistic history, her grandfather being the Rococo artist, Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806), Berthe and her sister were given a proper education that included music and art. One of her earlier instructors was Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875), who also taught Camillle Pissarro, another Impressionist. Corot was famous for painting outdoors and inspired many of the Impressionists to go outside to paint.  She also studied as a copyist with her sister at the Louvre museum, usually the only place a woman could learn since they were not allowed to attend art schools (in France).

As time and experience moved forward, Morisot became known as an excellent painter. She was even accepted into the annual, government-run, art exhibit, called the Salon, every year from 1864 to 1874. Many of the Impressionists were rejected from this event. 

Bertha Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets,
Manet 1872

In 1868 a memorable meeting occurred that changed everything:  she was introduced to Edouard Manet. They became fast friends and in time, he introduced her to the Impressionist group (or the Independents as they called themselves). One of Manet's famous paintings is of Morisot,which appears above. 

Within six years, Morisot joined the group and even married Manet’s younger brother Eugene. Traditionally, a woman was expected to stop her career (if she even had one) in favor of marriage, but in this case, Morisot kept on track. In fact, she became even more prolific, painting over 350 paintings in her eighteen years of marriage. It didn't hurt either that her husband was independently wealthy.  Most of her paintings were of the ordinary person, especially family life.

What I like most about studying Morisot is that you can actually see the Impressionistic influence, not so much with optical color or subject matter, but more so with how she changed her whites. For instance, the first painting below is a picture of her sister at a window. Notice the white—it's okay.

Young Woman Seated at a Window, 1869

Now notice the second one, painted in 1872. The colors in the white are more outstanding.

The Cradle, 1872

And her 1885 The Bath painting (below) has an even higher key and more colors in the whites.

The Bath. 1885

Many of Morisot’s paintings were of her beloved daughter, Julie (1876-1966), who eventually became an artist herself, and wrote the book, Growing up with the Impressionists.  

Sadly, Eugene Manet died in 1892 and then three years later after nursing Julie  back to health from influenza, Morisot came down with pneumonia and died at the age of 54. Julie was only 16 and was taken in by one of her aunts.

I was introduced to Berthe Morisot in the book, The Private Lives of the Impressionists, by Sue Roe. I liked it so much, I just bought myself a copy. I want to re-read it.

Next month, I will be discussing a third female Impressionist: Marie Bracquemont. In 1894, she was named one of "les trois grandes dames" of Impressionism alongside Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt.

---

[i] www.biography.com

Please note: Visual Journaling class meets December 2, 2012 instead of second Sunday.

 2013 Coming Attractions

I can't believe a new year is nearly a month away. What happened? Where was I in 2012? Very busy and time swept by like the wind.

Fortunately, I have some fun classes and workshops up ahead. I will be getting closer to giving you more information on our trip to England in the spring of 2014,  and I'm hoping to bring back the acrylics weekend workshop on Memorial Day weekend. Beyond those two, here are the studio classes and PCC workshops planned for next year. (Website will be updated in mid-December).

2013 Winter Classes

Glastonbury Studios

beginning the week of January 6

ending the week of February 10

Tuesday evenings $70/session

7-9 p.m.

Drawing Wild Animals/Mixed media

Wednesday mornings $70/session

10 to 12 noon

Sketch’n on the Go™

Sketching Botanicals/Pen and ink

Thursday evenings $85/session

6:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Intermediate Vincent Van Gogh

Visual Journaling $20 per class

Second Sunday of the Month

1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Please note:

December 2012 meeting, December 2

PCC Winter One-Day Workshops
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sylvania campus

Saturday, January 12 

Basic Drawing One-Day Workshop

Saturday, January 26          

Visual Journaling Mixed Media and Collage One-Day Workshop 

Saturday, February 9

Painting: Mixing Colors with Watercolor and Acrylic One-Day Workshop

Saturday, February 23

Beginning Acrylic Painting One-Day Workshop

Saturday, March 2

Colored Pencil One-Day Workshop

Saturday, March 16

Travel Sketching One-Day Workshop