Maternal Caress 1921

Mary Cassatt made this drawing, Maternal Caress, with graphite on paper. Look at those pale marks. I can imagine her, maybe in a room with low light, sketching rapidly. I think she was trying to capture something so fleeting. What was it like for Cassatt to make this image? The softness of the hug, the weight of the child in the mother’s arms… The barest, simplest lines convey so much feeling. I see the kid's head, leaning right into mom's. It’s just a few strokes but they show that complete trust and comfort a child has with their mother. And, wow, the mum's gaze. It’s not sentimental; it’s honest, present. I guess it’s cool how artists, like Cassatt here, can say so much with so little. They remind us that art can be a conversation, like a dialogue of care across time.