Mary Cassatt (American, 1844–1926)
The Child's Bath
INV-1114
Mary Cassatt (American, 1844–1926)1893
The Child's Bath
Mary Cassatt (American, 1844–1926) →ImpressionismModernismpaintingamerican arts
Date
1893
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
101.3 × 67.3 cm (39 15/16 × 26 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Robert A. Waller Fund
The Child’s Bath is a tender portrayal of familial closeness, a subject that Mary Cassatt explored throughout her career. The caregiver’s cheek brushing the child’s shoulder, her encircling embrace, and the child’s pudgy hand on her knee suggest an emotional bond between the two.
Captivated by a large exhibition of Japanese prints in Paris in 1890, Cassatt set out to produce a series of color prints influenced by Japanese aesthetics. She then continued her investigation across media, culminating in this bold composition, with its dramatically flattened picture plane, decorative patterning, and bright palette.
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