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 hile all the hoopla was going on in Brooklyn, leave it to the mainstream press to completely miss a really groundbreaking event. After all, there's nothing new anymore about outrage and slop. There is something new, however, about recognizing that it was the academic masters in the late 19th Century, and not the modernists, who opened the doors of the French Academy schools to women artists. Julian, Bouguereau and Lefèbvre in particular were at the forefront of this liberalization of the arts. The recognition of this flies in the face of the relentless character assassination that has been laid at the feet of these great masters. Not only were they not stodgy rigid old world supporters who were inflexible -- to the contrary, they were the professionals who were setting new standards for qualifying artists that removed gender from consideration.
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The Dahesh museum at 48th Street and 5th Ave. in Manhattan, has organized a show called Overcoming All Obstacles: The Women of the Academy Julian. This show which started at the Clark Museum in Williamstown Massachusetts in late fall, will be on exhibit until May 11th in New York. Then it picks up and travels to the Dixon Museum in Memphis through September. This feisty little museum has been pulling back the blinders on decades of misinformation and lies about some of history's greatest artistic geniuses for the five short years since its incorporation.
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They have applied to the City of New York for permission to occupy 2 Columbus Circle (the Old Huntington Hartford Museum) and thereby give New York its first premier institution dedicated to that critical period in art history. Curated by Gabriel Weisberg, this exhibit pioneers new territory in the re-appreciation of late 19th century academic painting, which is seen as one of the all-time high points in the history of western art. He is one of many scholars leading the way in this re-evaluation.
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It was the academic masters in the late 19th Century, and not the modernists, who opened the doors of the French Academy schools to women artists.
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While it took the more prestigious École des Beaux Arts until 1897 to admit women, they were afforded training equal to what was available to men as early as 1876 at Julian. Bouguereau's second wife, Elizabeth Jane Gardner, was one of the best, and is well represented by The Shepherd David. While I have seen even greater works by her (especially In the Woods which is in the catalog but couldn't make the exhibit), this painting is no slouch, and exhibits full mastery of her superb training. The handsome young David cradles a sheep in his arms, which he has saved from the jaws of a lioness, whose vanquished body he straddles.
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Silhouetted against a dark mountainous landscape, the work demonstrates her full understanding of "selective focus." There are no unnecessary and distracting elements strewn around, a vice not uncommon amongst many a lesser artist of her day. The economy of composition adds considerable weight and drama to this enlightened theme that suggests, even as a youth, the young king recognized his role of protecting his flock. Her fin-de-seicle audience would have readily understood this allegory of moral, protective, and responsible government.
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There are many fine works in this show, which is full of beautiful drawings and pastel portraits especially, ranging from delicate and feminine to strong and direct. Every one exhibits masterly drawing, modeling and composition with a strong use of light and shadow to create anatomically perfect features. A Portrait of a Lady With Opera Glasses by Anna Bilinska-Bohdanowicz was particularly striking. This artist was a real discovery for me. Unlike the endless spoofing of the upper crust that we see in Tissot, she boldly captured a sense of a dignified lady from high-society, but with subtle kindness and yet confident and strong.
Riveting and enchanting, Little Girl by Cecilia Beaux, has the sophistication of a Sargent mixed with the tender vulnerability of a Waterhouse or Whistler. There is also a wonderful painting by Marie Bashkirtseff of one of the women's studios at Julian, filled with students honing their skills.
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There are also many photographs of such scenes framed around the exhibit and in the professional catalog, which is for sale in their bookstore. It was interesting and unexpected to see how many women of Eastern European origin studied at Julian.
The methods and techniques of training are clearly outlined in the catalog, and the reader is left with little doubt that years of hard-work and dedication were a foregone conclusion if one hoped to master the painters craft. There are many other fine names and a great deal of information in this landmark exhibition, unfortunately beyond the constraints of this review. I encourage anyone in striking range of New York or Memphis to make the pilgrimage to this show. You won't regret it.
This article is reproduced with the kind permission of the American Society of Classical Realism.
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Marie Bashkirtseff
The Meeting
1884 - 74 x 69 inches
Musee d'Orsay
Elizabeth Gardener Bouguereau
In the Woods
Elizabeth Gardener Bouguereau
The Shepherd David
1895 - 60 x 41 icnhes
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Anna Bilinskika-Bohdanowicz
Portrait of Lady with Opera Glasses
1884 - 36 x 28 inches
Cecilia Beaux
Little Girl
1887 - 36 x 29 inches
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art
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