Fashion is art’s muse in Gloria Groom talk

Behind each great artist lies people who strive to show their appreciation through their own work.

Gloria Groom, Mary and Winton Green Curator of Medieval through Modern European Painting and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago, presented a lecture Thursday in the School of Fine Arts building about artist Edouard Manet and his influences on female artists, specifically Berthe Morisot and Eva Gonzales.

Groom also mentioned her upcoming exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, which will debut during Chicago’s 2012 Fashion Week and will include impressionism, fashion and modernity.

“I want to explore fashion in paintings,” Groom said.

Audience member and graduate student Jessica Hurd said she was pleased to hear about the upcoming and behind-the-scenes structure of putting on an art exhibit.

“I’m really excited to hear about her upcoming show, the collections and the aspects of putting on a show,” Hurd said.

Groom began the lecture by giving the backgrounds of Gonzales and Morisot, who both came from affluent, educated families.

“This is a lecture about relationships,” Groom said. “At the center of these relationships is Edouard Manet.”

The women had similar social status, Groom said. They had parents who “rubbed shoulders” with many important people, including prominent avant-garde artists. They met Manet, who was much older than themselves, through their parents’ social circle, Groom said.

Morisot became friends with Manet, and he portrayed her in many of his portraits. Meanwhile, Gonzales became Manet’s official and only student. Manet was smitten by Gonzales; he evidently painted more of her than of Morisot, Groom said.

Portraits and extravagant clothing were popular among the three artists’ paintings, Groom said. In the late 19th century, fashion in art was becoming more prominent. By the 1870s, there were more than 175 fashion journals.

“This is intersection of fashion and high art,” Groom said. “This is fashion as a vehicle for expressing new ideas.”

The two women attempted different works. Gonzales, who borrowed some of her style from Manet, had many small-scale paintings and also created a portrait symbolic of the “consumer experience.” Groom said the picture lacked some necessary content.

“The idea of consumer culture was lost,” she said.

Morisot eventually married Manet’s brother and her independence sky-rocketed.

“Once she can travel, she goes and paints difficult subjects ... outdoors ... she goes much further,” Groom said.

She said in the end, Morisot had “much more to offer” than Gonzales.

“She was recognized as Manet’s genius and grew into her own and was an artist renowned,” Groom said. “Gonzales was remembered as Manet’s student.”