Paper details
Throughout Linda Nochlin’s essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?,” the author identifies
“social and institutional situations” that have prohibited women artists from being considered great or
revolutionary. While these factors—which are both discursive and material—certainly impeded women
artists from achieving the levels of success that their male counterparts experienced, it is worth considering
whether Nochlin’s claims can be applied universally and in every case. For this short essay, discuss some
ways that Mary Cassatt and/or Berthe Morisot effectively challenged or undid the “situations” that Nochlin
believes are untouchable.