The Bath 1890 - 1891

Editor: This is Mary Cassatt’s print, "The Bath". I find the image so tender, but the perspective feels a bit unusual. What symbols or deeper meanings do you see in this quiet scene? Curator: Cassatt often depicted the Madonna and Child, evoking both Christian iconography, and universal themes of maternal love. What do you make of the child clinging to the mother, almost mirroring her posture? Editor: It feels very intimate and protective. Curator: Precisely. Notice the pattern on the mother's robe. Floral patterns often represented domesticity, fertility, and nature’s beauty in the 19th century. The bath itself? A symbol of purity, cleansing, and renewal. Editor: I never would have considered the cleansing aspect. Thank you for highlighting those symbolic layers! Curator: My pleasure! Symbols connect us to both personal and cultural understanding.