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Mary Cassatt (artist) American, 1844 - 1926 Mother's Kiss, 1890-1891 drypoint and aquatint on laid paper plate: 34.6 x 22.7 cm (13 5/8 x 8 15/16 in.) sheet: 43.3 x 30.1 cm (17 1/16 x 11 7/8 in.) Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.254 Not on View |
Object 8 of 12
The theme of mothers and children pervades much of Mary Cassatt's work. Although she herself never married, she often spent time with friends and family members and their children and represented them in drawings, prints, and paintings.
Mother's Kiss depicts a moment of tenderness between a mother and her baby. Children move quickly and Cassatt developed the ability to capture a pose rapidly, rendering her figures with only a few expressive strokes. Here, Cassatt faithfully delineates the baby's rounded belly and chubby legs in simple, graceful outlines. At any moment, it seems, the child will squirm from his mother's tenuous embrace and the pose will be lost. This slight awkwardness between the two figures denies the sentimentality present in so many works of art that deal with themes of motherhood. Because the figures are not smiling and perfectly posed, they seem more true to our everyday experience.
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