Maternal Caress

Museum record 13531: Maternal Caress by Mary Cassatt. A verified entry point for discovery.

What to notice

For Maternal Caress (record 13531), start with modern, expressive, atmospheric. Compare the focal subject, edge treatment, and atmosphere before moving on.

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Mary Cassatt began a series of ten color prints in 1890 that were intended for an 1891 exhibition at the influential Galerie Durand-Ruel in Paris. These prints exemplify the influence of Japanese color woodblock printmaking on her choice of composition, subject matter, and technique. In Maternal Caress , Cassatt portrayed a woman embracing her infant child. She rendered the figures and furniture as simplified, flattened shapes to allow the decorative elements—such as the floral patterns on the chair and…