The Fitting [verso]

The Fitting [verso] by Mary Cassatt, executed between 1890 and 1891, is a masterful example of the American artist’s intense exploration into graphic arts during the height of her career. Classified as a drawing, the work utilizes the highly specialized medium of transferred softground on wove paper. This technique involves drawing onto thin paper placed over a plate covered with a soft etching ground, which adheres to the paper where the pencil pressure is applied, effectively creating a reversed, spontaneous image when the paper is lifted. This method allowed Cassatt to achieve a sensitive, textural quality often lacking in traditional etching.

The work falls within the significant artistic period stretching from 1876 to 1900, a time when Cassatt, though American, was deeply entrenched in the Parisian avant-garde, exhibiting alongside the French Impressionists. Her subject matter consistently focused on the intimate, unidealized portrayal of women engaged in private, domestic rituals, challenging the highly formalized academic art that dominated the era. The technique used for The Fitting [verso] highlights Cassatt’s fascination with Japanese woodblock prints, which heavily influenced her compositions, framing, and preference for strong contour lines and asymmetrical design.

This graphic piece is representative of the intense experimentation Cassatt undertook with various print processes in the early 1890s, resulting in some of her most celebrated two-dimensional creations. Through her printmaking, Cassatt refined her focus on gesture and composition, often utilizing preparatory drawings and transferred designs to capture a fleeting moment of human interaction or quiet contemplation.

Held today in the esteemed collection of the National Gallery of Art, this drawing serves as a vital record of the artist's dedication to both draftsmanship and graphic innovation. As a key document of late 19th-century American art, high-quality images and prints of this work are often made available through public domain initiatives, ensuring access for scholars and admirers worldwide.