Peasant Mother and Child

Peasant Mother and Child is a significant print created by Mary Cassatt in 1894. This highly refined work showcases the artist’s technical mastery and sophisticated approach to graphic arts, specifically utilizing the complex process of color drypoint and aquatint. Cassatt’s intensive experimentation with these media in the 1890s was directly influenced by the aesthetic principles of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock printing, which emphasized strong linear contour and large, carefully controlled planes of color.

The subject matter, the tender relationship between a mother and her child, was a recurring and central motif in Cassatt's prolific career. However, the title’s specification of a “peasant” mother indicates a distinct shift from her earlier focus on portraits of middle and upper-class Parisian women. This shift, perhaps reflecting a greater sociological interest in universal human experiences during the late Victorian era, allows Cassatt to focus on the intimate, private moments of maternal life, stripped of social artifice.

The creation of this print falls squarely within the American period of 1876 to 1900, a transformative era when American artists absorbed European styles like Impressionism while defining a national aesthetic. Cassatt, an expatriate, was instrumental in championing the print medium, proving that reproducible graphic works could achieve the same artistic merit as oil paintings. The combination of drypoint provides sharp, detailed outlines, while the aquatint lends soft, modulated tonal areas, allowing the artist to achieve a depth and atmospheric quality rarely seen in color prints of the time.

This piece, characteristic of the artist’s mature period, employs subtle color shifts and a precise, intimate composition to elevate the simple domestic scene. Cassatt’s enduring commitment to the mother and child theme has cemented her status as a foremost American Impressionist. The original print resides within the distinguished collection of the National Gallery of Art.