Report on Mary Cassatt's 'The Child's Bath' and Impressionism

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Mary Cassatt's painting, 'The Child's Bath'. The analysis focuses on the painting's composition, which includes an unconventional arrangement of figures and objects, and the use of bold outlines, floral designs, and flattened perspectives influenced by Japanese woodblock prints. The report examines the color palette, dominated by grays and mauves, and how it directs the viewer's attention to the relationship between the mother and child. The analysis also highlights the painting's themes of domesticity, the depiction of a daily bathing ritual, and the tender relationship between the mother and child. Furthermore, the report discusses the influence of Impressionism and the unique perspective Cassatt brings to the subject matter, making the painting particularly appealing. This report is a valuable resource for understanding Cassatt's artistic vision and techniques.

Mary Cassatt was a popular American painter who was known as "Les Trois Grandes Dames" of
Impressionism. Most probable she engaged in the creation of social and private women's lives in
her paintings focusing significantly on the mothers and children relationships. She developed
"The Child's Bath "an oil painting of 1893, was considered the best painting in comparison to all
other paintings (Jones, 2014). In this painting, she comprised an unorthodox and striking
composition which makes it very attractive and beautiful.
This work included various devices that were unconventional like bold outlines, floral designs,
cropped forms, flattened perspectives and patterns which were all derived from Mary Cassatt
studies of Japanese woodblock prints. The patterns are through grays and mauves which are
mainly restrained with the soft coloration that allows focus of the audience to the subject of the
scene which is the close relationship between the mother and the child (Shields, 2016).
Both the mother and the child are highly related to their task's shared absorption as the pitcher
and the bowl which are being utilized for the domestic ritual. The main scene of the image
depends on a child’s daily bathing that known as a special moment. The women are seemed to

firmly and protectively hold the child in her one hand and with the other hand washes the child's
feet.
The composition in the painting reinforces the painters of the woman with the child/s tender
absorption. Cassatt considers as the main subject matter of the painting which making the image
more attractive and beautiful (Saini, 2013). In the painting, the viewer observes the love of one
woman towards her daughter which makes it attractive for the viewers.

References
Jones, K. A. (2014). Mary Cassatt's" Little Girl in a Blue Armchair:" Unraveling an
Impressionist Puzzle. Archives of American Art Journal,53(1/2), 116-121.
Shields, C. N. (2016). Refracting the Male Gaze: Mary Cassatt’s Ocularcentric Message of
Female Agency. Quercus: Linfield Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2(1), 4.
Saini, B. S. (2013). Mary Cassatt: Feminine Labour and Creative Leisure(Doctoral dissertation,
Dissertation, Jawaharlal Nehru University). Retrieved from http://www. academia.
edu/3512491/Shilpi_Saini-_Mary_Cassatt_Feminine_Labour_and_Creative_Leisure).