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The Bath

Mary Cassatt American
Printer Jointly printed by the artist and Monsieur LeRoy French
1890–91
Not on view
Cassatt printed the early impression of The Bath, exhibited nearby, from a single plate, but created this later impression with two separately inked and printed plates—one for tonal areas, one for drypoint lines and the tone of the mother’s dress. Cassatt described this work, the first in the series of ten she exhibited in Paris in 1891, as made "in imitation of Japanese art." Inspired by Ukiyo-e woodcuts, Cassatt colored her figures in flat unmodulated tones; contrasted with the yellow dress, the rippling water in the tub gains an unexpected illusionism. When the brothers Arthur and Paul J. Sachs gave early and final states of Cassatt’s set to the Department of Prints at its founding in 1916, the color states came from Paul and those printed in black ink from Arthur.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Bath
  • Artist: Mary Cassatt (American, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1844–1926 Le Mesnil-Théribus, Oise)
  • Printer: Jointly printed by the artist and Monsieur LeRoy (French, active 1875–1900)
  • Date: 1890–91
  • Medium: Drypoint, soft-ground etching and aquatint, printed in color from two plates; seventeenth state of seventeen (Mathews & Shapiro)
  • Dimensions: image: 11 5/8 x 9 3/4 in. (29.5 x 24.8 cm)
    sheet: 17 x 11 13/16 in. (43.2 x 30 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Paul J. Sachs, 1916
  • Object Number: 16.2.7
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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The Map, Mary Cassatt American, Drypoint; second state of three
The Map
Mary Cassatt
1890
Mother Berthe Holding Her Child, Mary Cassatt American, Drypoint; second state of two
Mother Berthe Holding Her Child
Mary Cassatt
ca. 1889
The Barefooted Child, Mary Cassatt American, Drypoint and aquatint, printed in color from three plates; fifth state of five
The Barefooted Child
Mary Cassatt
ca. 1896–97
The Stocking, Mary Cassatt American, Drypoint; fifth state of six
The Stocking
Mary Cassatt
1890
The Mirror, Mary Cassatt American, Drypoint; sixth state of six
The Mirror
Mary Cassatt
ca. 1891

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