Sleepy Baby 1910

Mary Cassatt made this artwork, Sleepy Baby, using pastel, and I can almost feel the soft, chalky texture under her fingers as she worked. The strokes are feathery, light, like a whisper across the surface. I imagine Cassatt, in her studio, gently coaxing the image into being. What was she thinking as she chose these colors—the blush of the mother's cheek echoed in the baby's skin? Look at the way the pinks and blues mingle in the folds of the blanket, creating a sense of warmth and tenderness. You can see a kindred spirit in the work of Berthe Morisot, but Cassatt brings her own unique sensibility to this intimate scene. That single stroke of blue outlining the baby's arm is pure genius, isn't it? Cassatt's work reminds us that painting is an ongoing dialogue, a conversation between artists across time. Her brushstrokes, full of feeling and intent, invite us to see the world through her eyes and to find our own meaning in the beauty of everyday life.