Mother and Child Reading 1913

Mary Cassatt made "Mother and Child Reading," with pastel on paper. Look at how the strokes are so visible, like soft whispers on the page, giving us a peek into how it was made. I’m really drawn to the way Cassatt builds up the forms here, layer upon layer. It is like she's sculpting with color, the pinks of the child's dress, mixed with hints of other colors, create such a vibrant surface. And the way she renders the flesh tones with touches of blues, greens, and yellows makes it all so alive. Notice the mark making around the mother’s eyes: the subtle way she models the form with delicate strokes. It is like she's tenderly caressing the paper with her pastels. Cassatt reminds me of Morisot who, like her, embraced a similar process-oriented approach to artmaking. Both artists explored the intimacy of domestic life, pushing the boundaries of what painting could be.