The Bath 1890 - 1891

Editor: Here we have Mary Cassatt’s "The Bath," housed at the Harvard Art Museums. The printmaking technique gives it a softness, and the scene itself feels so intimate. What’s your take on this tender moment? Curator: It whispers of quiet domesticity, doesn't it? Cassatt, like a fly on the wall, captures the everyday rituals. Notice the almost Japanese print-like quality - the flattened perspective, the focus on line and pattern. Doesn't it make you feel like you're peeking into a private world, a secret shared between mother and child? Editor: It really does. Thanks, that's given me a whole new perspective!