The Bath

The Bath by Mary Cassatt, executed between 1890 and 1891, is a highly regarded work classified as an American Print. This impression, produced on laid paper, showcases the artist’s mastery of graphic techniques, utilizing the combined processes of drypoint and softground etching. These methods allowed Cassatt to achieve an unusual blend of sharp linear definition, characteristic of drypoint, with the subtle, granular tonal variations of softground etching.

Created during the dynamic period between 1876 and 1900, this piece exemplifies Cassatt’s mature artistic development. Although an American expatriate working primarily in Paris, Cassatt stood apart from many of her Impressionist peers in her dedicated focus on the quiet interior lives of women and the profound emotional bond between mother and child. Cassatt’s approach was heavily influenced by her study of Japanese ukiyo-e prints, which informed the flattened perspective, strong compositional outlines, and the use of patterned surfaces visible in works like The Bath.

The subject matter focuses on an intimate domestic ritual: a mother carefully bathing her young child. Cassatt renders this private moment with technical assurance and emotional restraint, capturing the geometry and the gentle physicality of the interaction without sentimentality. Her proficiency in creating sophisticated prints, which she viewed not merely as reproductive media but as independent artworks, cemented her reputation as a groundbreaking graphic artist.

This significant print is a celebrated example of late 19th-century American graphic arts, recognized internationally for its technical skill and evocative portrayal of daily life. The work is housed within the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Due to its historical importance and the cultural prominence of the artist, this work is widely studied, and high-quality prints and reproductions are frequently accessible through institutions maintaining records of public domain artworks.