Mary Cassatt was an American artist who valued her independence as an artist and as a woman very much. She thrived in a male dominated art world in the 19th century, while females were still not allowed to study in art schools or were not allowed to paint nudes there. What first came to my mind when I saw The Long Gloves was how hard it must have been to dress 127 years ago for a woman if a pair of gloves required as much attention as they did in Cassatt’s work.
We see the red-haired girl expertly fusses with her left glove despite her young age. The gloves are long indeed, covering her entire arms. Cassatt created the gloves with blunt blue lines, loosely doodling the girls’ arms. The blue lines are surrounding the left arm all over like a cerulean powder cloud. The right arm, however, is girdled with harsh white pastel. The lines are like many chains pinioning a just blossoming flower.
But in spite of the long gloves, or the long dresses, or the tight corsets and the tight social requirements and rules for young ladies, no one could suppress the individuality, personal freedom and gifted souls from being released and flying to the heights. No one. That is what this pastel work speaks of for me. There are no gloves that can hide one’s flesh and spirit. There are no rules that could forbid a life to live in full.
