By Carter Considine, 17, The Athenian School, Danville, Calif.
The national traveling exhibitions “Mary Cassatt at Work,” “Tamara de Lempicka,” and “Amy Sherald: American Sublime” converged across three San Francisco museums. This trifecta of pioneering women, often diminished or overlooked, refuses to be ignored.
“Too feminine.” “Frivolous.” “Bombastic.” Male critics have used these words to dismiss the works of Cassatt, Lempicka and Sherald. But such critiques reveal more about entrenched biases than the quality of the art. Now, on the 50th anniversary of Laura Mulvey coining the term “male gaze,” we are more ready than ever to celebrate its antithesis — the “female gaze.” These three artists embrace it wholeheartedly, offering us a way of looking that imbues female subjects with agency and allows them to exist as fully realized individuals.
1. “In the Loge” (1878) by Mary Cassatt
The painting depicts a woman at the theater, her gaze fixed on the stage through opera glasses. A man in a nearby box seat eyes her through his opera glasses, transfixed. It is striking how Cassatt renders this leering man with loose brushstrokes, de-emphasizing his agency. The image seems a perfect encapsulation of the female gaze — it is an independent woman, indifferent to the gaze of others, who Cassatt has chosen to bring into focus. She observes the performance with seriousness and curiosity in a laceless dress, culturally literate and engaged. As an outspoken suffragist, Cassatt makes a more overtly political statement with this painting than in her traditionally celebrated mother and child images.
2. “Jeune Fille en Vert” (1930-1931) by Tamara de Lempicka
Moving ahead two generations, Lempicka’s model, like Cassatt’s sitter, is a nameless high-society Parisian woman. She exudes Art Deco sophistication in a shiny dress and wide-brimmed hat. Her gaze is turned away from the viewer, dismissing our attention while fully in control of her ability to command desire. There is undeniable power in her presence — she is unapologetically herself and timelessly cool. If Cassatt’s subject is indifferent to onlookers, Lempicka’s doubles down defiantly on busting out of female norms. The asymmetry of the composition, its geometric facets and curvaceous subject, create a new swaggering 20th-century woman apart from her forebears. As a queer artist, Lempicka is expanding the boundaries of the female gaze to include a self-determined sultry power.
3. “A Midsummer Afternoon Dream” (2020) by Amy Sherald
Michelle Obama’s famous portraiture artist, Amy Sherald, once faced misguided criticism for rendering the first lady’s skin tone “too gray.” Witnessing the same en grisaille technique throughout her exhibit is transfixing, particularly in this work. The muted grayscale draws our eyes directly to the subject’s self-possessed demeanor. The near-life-sized subject leans against a pale yellow fixed-gear bicycle, living her best life in a playful, sun-drenched pastoral setting with sunflowers, a white picket fence, and comfy sneakers. Her “cool auntie” vibes — her ability to make even flower picking somehow glamorous — is a powerful pushback against chauvinism and racial stereotypes. This woman knows exactly how to make the most of leisure time. Having just bicycled in a long sundress, her handlebar basket laden with a small dog and wildflowers, she appears like a goddess from the perspective of any niece looking for permission to live by her own rules.
Trailblazers Cassatt, Lempicka and Sherald have redefined the female gaze in art. Their works challenge the dominant male perspective and offer a refreshing, essential alternative. In an era inundated with alpha male archetypes, each of these unapologetic visions reminds us of the richness of the female experience. Their daring artistry will next cast its gaze over Philadelphia (Cassatt), Houston (Lempicka) and New York City (Sherald).