When the Impressionists debuted their work as a group in 1874, critics were quick to label their art “feminine.”
When the Impressionists debuted their work as a group in 1874, critics were quick to label their art “feminine.” Their canvases were small, their pastel palettes were too gauzy, their brushstrokes were too loose. Slices of everyday life—seascapes and English gardens, mothers and daughters—appeared in the place of moralizing historical scenes.“Only a woman has the right to rigorously practice the Impressionist system,” critic Téodor de Wyzewa wrote in 1891. “She alone can limit her effort to the translation of impressions.” Male artists, de Wyzewa and others seemed to imply, would have opted for something entirely different.