Woman by a Window Feeding Her Dog 1880

Editor: This is "Woman by a Window Feeding Her Dog," an oil painting by Mary Cassatt, painted around 1880. It has a wonderfully intimate quality; it's like catching a private moment. What stands out to you when you look at this piece? Curator: Well, immediately I'm struck by the materiality of it all. Look at the rough, visible brushstrokes! They aren’t trying to hide the labour. We need to consider what that communicates in relation to Cassatt's position as a woman artist. Was this visible labor meant to parallel the labor that goes into the domestic work women were generally confined to during this time? Editor: That's an interesting way to put it. So, you're saying that the visible brushstrokes… the physical application of the oil paint… could be a commentary on the work of women at the time? Curator: Exactly. And what kind of oil paint was she using? Was it commercially produced? Where were the pigments sourced from? How much did they cost, and what does that imply about Cassatt's access to resources, as opposed to her male colleagues? How did mass production affect how readily she, and others like her, could work at all? Editor: I never thought of it that way before, but you're right. The raw materials and production of this artwork reveal much more than the scene alone. It’s more than a simple domestic picture. Curator: Precisely! The social context is essential; class, gender, labor, even the cost and availability of her materials shape the reading of "Woman by a Window Feeding Her Dog". We must consider what she's consuming versus how she's allowed to produce. Editor: I think I see Cassatt’s work, and even impressionism in general, in a new way. Thanks!