Mother and Child 1914

Mary Cassatt, in this painting, builds her forms with smudges of color, mostly greens, pinks, and reds. I can imagine her working on this piece, maybe in a room full of light, thinking about form and the intimacy between mother and child. The paint application looks pretty thin here. You can almost feel the strokes of the pastel. Look how the colors blend, especially on the child’s body. It’s like she’s capturing a fleeting moment, those soft, fleeting moments of motherhood. Cassatt was part of the Impressionist movement. She explored domestic themes and the lives of women. You can sense a connection with other artists interested in capturing everyday life, like Morisot, and, of course, Degas. Artists respond to each other's work across generations. Each brushstroke, each choice of color, is part of an ongoing exchange. Cassatt offers us a glimpse into her world, where the bond between mother and child is rendered in delicate strokes of color, suggesting tenderness and fleeting moments of beauty.