Happily We Are Only Women: An Investigation into the Lives and Works of Artemisia Gentileschi, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, and Mary Cassatt

Abstract

The lives of Artemisia Gentileschi, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, and Mary Cassatt are distinct, varying greatly from one another. Yet, for all of their differences these artists have far more in common. Each negotiated social systems, ideologies, and institutions which were stacked against them, using only those resources immediately available. The professional careers, private lives, and artistic and social institutions which shaped these artists are discussed through a collection of paintings exemplifying their life and work. Influenced in part by tragedy and scandal early in life, great artists of her age, and by the social, religious, and political constructs of her time, Artemisia Gentileschi was a painter of biblical, mythological, and allegorical heroines. Adélaïde Labille-Guiard's proficiency in representing with accuracy the details of the world, placed her in the realm of her male contemporaries which she continuously strove to justify throughout her artistic career. Mary Cassatt was an artist, professional, and entrepreneur who happened to be a lady and painter of women: women in society, in the home, and with their children. Each of these artists possessed authority over their profession, life, and business, developing their skills in the context of powerful men and women.