Girl in a Hat with a Black Ribbon c. 1901 - 1902

Mary Cassatt created this portrait, Girl in a Hat with a Black Ribbon, with pastels. Look at those marks! It's like she’s building up layers, adding colour, adjusting, maybe stepping back, squinting, and then diving in again. I imagine Mary Cassatt must have had a soft spot for this girl. It’s intimate, but not overly sentimental, right? The way she renders the girl’s face with those gentle pinks and blues makes her seem very real. And that hat! It’s not just a hat, it's a character in itself with that bold black ribbon. There is an ongoing conversation with other impressionists, especially Degas, in this work. Cassatt really knew how to make a mark count. You can see the influence of Impressionism, but she also made it her own. What I love about painting, especially with pastels like this, is that it’s not about perfection. It's more like a dance, a conversation between the artist, the subject, and the medium, with room for uncertainty.