The Child's Bath

Notes from the museum

In The Child’s Bath , Cassatt centered two figures in a moment of physical closeness: a woman steadies a young charge on her lap as she holds the child’s foot in the washbasin below. The steep angle from above creates a shallow picture plane, pulling viewers into the space. The carpeted floor seems to sit upright on the surface of the canvas. Adding to this sense of flatness, pattern is everywhere within the frame. These formal elements reflect Cassatt’s intense engagement with Japanese aesthetics in the 1890s. An extraordinary composition featuring the artist’s signature subject, The Child’s Bath was widely exhibited beginning in 1893. The Art Institute of Chicago purchased the painting in 1910—making it the first work by Cassatt to enter the museum’s collection.

Text: Art Institute of Chicago (open access). Our full story for this work is coming soon.

Slow Look

1. The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
2. The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
3. The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
4. One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
5. The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?

About Mary Cassatt

Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, but lived most of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar Degas and exhibited with the Impressionists. Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children.

Painter profile →