Mary Cassatt
American, 1844­1926
The Bath
1891/92
Oil on canvas
100.3 x 66 cm
Robert A. Waller Fund, 1910.2

Degas introduced Cassatt to the Impressionist painters, and she was the first American artist to exhibit with them. Like Degas, Cassatt experimented with unusual viewpoints and the play of color and pattern. Are you looking down, or up, or straight at this scene? Where do you see patterns?

The little girl’s bath takes place in a bowl, not a modern tub or shower. Where did the water come from? How does the artist emphasize the closeness and tender relationship between the woman and child?