The Child's Bath - Mary Cassatt
Archival giclée
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Description
A classic Impressionist study of domestic intimacy, capturing a mother bathing her child with soft tones and patterned textures.
The Child's Bath, painted in 1893, is one of the most recognised works by the American Impressionist Mary Cassatt. The composition depicts a mother bathing her young child, a subject that occupied much of the artist's career during her time in France. Cassatt focuses on the physical intimacy of the domestic sphere, capturing the quiet interaction between the two figures. The mother's posture is protective, while the child sits securely on her lap, looking up with an expression of trust.
Visually, the work demonstrates the influence of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, which were popular among the Impressionist circle in Paris at the time. This is evident in the high vantage point, the flattened perspective, and the bold, decorative patterns of the carpet and wallpaper. The colour palette is dominated by soft blues, creams, and muted pinks, applied with visible, textured brushwork that defines the forms without relying on harsh outlines. The striped pattern of the rug and the floral motifs on the wall provide a structured backdrop that contrasts with the soft, rounded forms of the figures.
Cassatt avoids the sentimental tropes common in Victorian depictions of motherhood. Instead, she presents the scene with a sense of objective observation. The basin of water, the mother's firm grip, and the child's relaxed limbs are rendered with a focus on the reality of daily life. The painting remains a primary example of how Cassatt adapted the techniques of her contemporaries to explore themes of domesticity and the female experience. By choosing to focus on the private world of women and children, she provided a perspective that was often overlooked in the broader art historical canon of the late nineteenth century.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
The Child's Bath - Mary Cassatt
Artist Biography
Mary Cassatt
She grew up in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), in a prosperous family. She studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where she found the instruction restrictive and the male students hostile. She moved to Paris in 1866, copied old masters in the Louvre, and studied privately with several painters before finding her direction with the Impressionists.
Her subject was women and children in domestic settings: mothers bathing infants, women reading, girls at the opera, women having tea. The subject matter sounds conventional. The treatment is not. She observed her subjects with the same unsentimental attention Degas brought to dancers. The compositions are cropped and angled, influenced by Japanese prints and by Degas's habit of painting people from unexpected viewpoints. Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (1878) shows a child sprawled across a chair with the boredom and physical abandon that adults rarely notice and painters rarely record.
She never married. She was wealthy enough not to need to sell her work. She used her position and her connections to persuade American collectors, particularly the Havemeyers, to buy Impressionist paintings. The Havemeyer collection, much of it acquired on Cassatt's advice, was donated to the Metropolitan Museum. She shaped the taste of American collectors more than any other single individual.
She developed cataracts and was nearly blind by 1914. She stopped painting. She died in 1926, at eighty-two.
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