Impressionism and Modern Femininity

Impressionism and Modern Femininity

Lois Oliver

Many Impressionist artists were well known for their images of female figures engaged in contemporary everyday activities, and a number of critics reviewing their exhibitions regarded Impressionism as a quintessentially ‘feminine’ style. But what can these images tell us about nineteenth-century lived experience and the choices and processes involved in image-making? This lecture explores these questions through a close engagement with artworks by Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas.

Dr Lois Oliver studied History of Art at the Courtauld Institute, completing an MA in Venetian Renaissance Art and writing her PhD thesis on The Image of the Artist, Paris 1815-1855. She is a professor in art history at the University of Notre Dame in London, and a visiting lecturer at the Courtauld Institute. She has worked as a curator at the V&A, the National Gallery, and the Royal Academy. Her recent exhibitions include one on Berthe Morisot at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Lois is also a keen violinist, playing regularly with two orchestras.

Doors and the bar at Thornden Hall Arts Centre open from 18.45; talks start at 19.30 and last an hour with additional time for questions.

Image: Mary Cassatt, The Child's Bath (1893), Robert A. Waller Fund, Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago.