Charlie’s blog

The Bath is an oil on canvas by Mary Cassat a 19th century American artist who was very much influenced by French impressionist painters like Renoir, Monet and Degas. It was painted in 1892 and you can find it today at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The scene is set in a bedroom. In the foreground there is a jug and a basin full of water on a red patern rug.In the middle-ground a mother is holding her daughter on her knees and gently washing her foot. The little girl is naked but for a towel on her waist. In the background there is the wall covered with a flowery wallpaper and a chest of drawer.

The compsition is in curves and circles like for instance the basin, the jug and the two characters head which are  touching. The colours are warm and the atmosphere cosy and intimate. The artist focuses on the love between mother and daughter.