Baby John with Forefinger in His Mouth 1910

Mary Cassatt made this pastel drawing of a mother and child, called Baby John with Forefinger in His Mouth, sometime in the late nineteenth century. You can see the quick strokes of the pastel crayons, almost like the hatching in a drawing. The textures seem to describe the qualities of the air itself, thick and soft and warm. I love the way the colors are layered, like she’s building up the forms with these little dabs and dashes. Look at how she uses blue and yellow, side-by-side, to describe the folds of the mother’s dress. It’s not about realism but about feeling, it’s about sensation. Cassatt was working alongside the Impressionists in France, and you can see their influence in her choice of subject matter and her interest in capturing fleeting moments. There’s something so intimate and tender about this image, like we’re getting a glimpse into a private world. It makes you wonder, what is it about pastel as a medium that lends itself to such tenderness?