At the Dressing Table

At the Dressing Table by Mary Cassatt American, 1844-1926 is a significant example of the artist's engagement with printmaking during the late 19th century. Created in 1880, this classification of Print utilizes the demanding techniques of soft ground and aquatint applied to cream wove paper. This specific medium allowed Cassatt to achieve subtle gradations of tone and rich textures, mirroring the atmospheric effects she pursued in her oils and pastels while exploring the reproductive and accessible potential of fine art prints.

Cassatt, an American artist deeply rooted in the French avant-garde, frequently portrayed the intimate and private lives of women, elevating everyday domestic activities into high art. The period of 1880 marks a time when the artist was actively refining her visual language, often drawing inspiration from the compositional clarity found in Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints. This work, focusing on a figure, likely a woman, absorbed in a moment of personal reflection or preparation at the dressing table, captures an intimacy characteristic of her oeuvre. Her explorations of light and form within these small-scale works cemented her position as a crucial figure in both the United States and European art circles.

This important example of Cassatt's graphic work is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The piece demonstrates the artist's commitment to mastering the challenging intaglio processes that defined her contribution to modern art. As with much of her seminal work, reproductions of this 1880 print are frequently accessed by the public, ensuring the widespread recognition of her talent, particularly those works now considered to be in the public domain.