123TJ123-8-2009 LK VWD0011 Tradition Humanistic 6th Edition W:220mm x H:292mm 175L 115 Stora Enso M/A Magenta (V)CHAPTER 31 The Move Toward Modernism 123123inspired a new way of reconciling the illusion of the three-
dimensional world with the flatness of the two-dimension-
al canvas. At the same time, the elegant naturalism and
refined workmanship of Asian cloisonnéenamels, ceramics,
lacquerwares, ivories, silks, and other collectibles were
widely imitated in the Arts and Crafts movements that
flourished at the end of the century (see Figure 31.18).
Cassatt
One of the most notable artists to come under the influ-
ence of Japanese prints was the American painter Mary
Cassatt (1844–1926). Cassatt spent most of her life in Paris,
where she became a friend and colleague of Degas, Renoir,
and other Impressionists, with whom she exhibited regular-
ly. Like Degas, she painted mainly indoors, cultivating a
style that combined forceful calligraphy, large areas of
unmodulated color, and unusual perspectives—the major
features of the Japanese woodcuts—with a taste for female
subjects.
Cassatt brought a unique sensitivity to domestic themes
that featured mothers and children enjoying everyday tasks
and diversions (Figure 31.14). These gentle and optimistic
images appealed to American collectors and did much to
increase the popularity of Impressionist art in the United
States. Yet the so-called “Madonna of American art” pre-
ferred life in Paris to that in prefeminist America. “Women
do not have to fight for recognition here if they do serious
work,” wrote Cassatt.
Figure 31.11 KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI, Mount Fuji Seen Below a Wave at
Kanagawa, from “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,” Tokugawa Period. Full-color
woodblock print, width 14^3 ⁄ 4 in.