The Child's Bath

1893·Oil on canvas·101.3 × 67.3 cm (39 15/16 × 26 1/2 in.)

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.

Catalogue

Year: 1893
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 101.3 × 67.3 cm (39 15/16 × 26 1/2 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Mary Cassatt

Artist

Mary Cassatt

Painting

Born to a wealthy family in Philadelphia in 1844, Mary Cassatt trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, one of the few institutions where women were allowed to study. She moved to Paris with her mother in 1866, where she would spend her entire adult life. Cassatt began studying Italian and French masters, but was soon noticed by the Impressionists. Edgar Degas was particularly taken with her work, and beginning in the mid-1870s, she regularly exhibited her work with the Impressionists. Though very much a member of their circle, as a woman, she was not allowed to enter the cafés where the Impressionists frequently gathered to discuss art and philosophy.

Philadelphia, PA, USA

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