Maternal Caress
Sobre la obra
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 wallpaper—and the limited color palette to predominate and set the warm mood of the scene.
Instituto de Arte de ChicagoCC BY 4.0
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Mientras tanto, en la vida de Mary Cassatt
La vida entera1890s
Mentor to young Americans
The 1890s are the busiest and most creative period of Mary’s life: young American artists seek her advice and support, and she introduces Lucy A. Bacon to Camille Pissarro.
1891
Bertha Palmer commissions a mural
Chicago socialite Bertha Palmer asks Mary to paint a 12 × 58 ft mural on “Modern Woman” for the Women’s Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. Palmer thought Cassatt an American treasure and could think of no one better.
1891
Colour prints inspired by Japanese woodcuts
Mary exhibits a series of highly original colour drypoints and aquatints, among them “Woman Bathing” and “The Coiffure”, inspired by the Japanese masters shown in Paris the year before. She was drawn to the simplicity and clarity of Japanese design and its skilful use of blocks of colour.
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