In What Time Period of Art Was "Maternal Caress" by Mary Cassatt Painted?

Mary Cassatt is largely recognized as an impressionist painter.

Mary Cassatt's "Maternal Caress" is a drypoint and soft-ground etching featuring a mother holding a very young child. It was painted in the Impressionist era, although the painting also displays Japonisme features.

Impressionism

Impressionism was an art movement that reached its popularity in the latter part of the 19th century. The art style is marked by thick strokes of paint that capture color and light but are unconcerned with exact detail. Famous impressionist painters include Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne and Mary Cassatt.

Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt was an American painter who was born in 1844 and died in 1926. She spent much of her life in France and was one of the few female impressionist artists. Many of her works focus on unsentimental moments between a mother and child.

The Painting

"Maternal Caress" was painted in 1891. Cassatt was inspired by the Japanese woodcuts on display at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The painting is part of the Chester Dale Collection at the National Gallery of Art and has been loaned out on exhibition tours to Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C.

References

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Maternal Caress
• National Gallery of Art: Mary Cassatt
• Mary Cassatt: Homepage

Resources

• Metropolitan Museum of Art: Impressionism