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Cassatt, In the Loge
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Cassatt, In the Loge

The Role of the Opera House in Modern Paris

The Transformation of Paris and the Opera House

  • Paris in the late 19th century emerged as a modern city characterized by spectacle, where the wealthy showcased themselves and observed others, particularly evident in the opera house.
  • The opera house served as a centerpiece of this new Paris during the Second Empire (1850s-60s), featuring lavish decorations like gold, mosaics, paintings, mirrors, and grand staircases.

Social Dynamics at the Opera

  • The opera house was not just about performances; it emphasized social interaction among audiences before shows and during intermissions.
  • Mary Cassatt's painting "In the Loge" captures this dynamic, focusing on a woman engaged in looking rather than watching the stage.

Gazes and Perspectives

  • The female subject is depicted between two gazes: that of the viewer (us) and a male figure behind her who also observes her.
  • This duality highlights voyeurism; both we and the male figure are complicit in observing her.

Gender Dynamics in Art

  • Mary Cassatt, an impressionist artist invited by Degas to exhibitions, found unique opportunities for women to engage with themes of looking and being seen within socially accessible spaces like the opera.
  • Unlike her male counterparts who painted public spaces freely, Cassatt utilized the opera as a venue where she could express herself artistically.

Agency Through Observation

  • In "In the Loge," Cassatt presents a woman with agency actively participating in observation alongside a male gaze.
  • The woman's posture conveys enthusiasm; she leans forward with confidence while holding her fan assertively.

Cultural Commentary on Visual Technology

  • The painting reflects on visual culture and technology's role in enhancing perception. It emphasizes how art captures fleeting moments within this culture of looking.
Video description

Mary Cassatt, In the Loge, 1878, oil on canvas, 81.28 x 66.04 cm / 32 x 26 inches (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker In nineteenth century France, the gaze of the observer—whether on Napoleon's grand new boulevards or in the opera—was very much structured by issues of economic status. Mary Cassatt's remarkable painting In the Loge (c. 1878-79) clearly shows the complex relationship between the gaze, public spectacle, gender, and class privilege. Cassatt was a wealthy American artist who had adopted the style of the Impressionists while living in Paris. Here she depicts a fashionable upper-class woman in a box seat at the Paris opera (as it happens, the sitter is Cassatt's sister, Lydia). Lydia is shown holding opera glasses up to her eyes; but instead of tilting them down, as she would if she were watching the performance below, her gaze is level. She peers straight across the chamber perhaps at another member of the audience. Look closely and you will notice that, in turn, and in one of the boxes across the room, a gentleman is gazing at her. Lydia is then, in a sense, caught between his gaze and ours even as she spies another. . Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.