Head of a Young Woman - Mary Cassatt
Archival giclée
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Description
A delicate watercolour portrait by Mary Cassatt, capturing a quiet, introspective moment with fluid brushwork and a soft, light-filled palette.
This delicate watercolour study by Mary Cassatt captures a quiet, introspective moment. Cassatt, an American painter who spent much of her career in France, was a central figure among the Impressionists. Her work often focused on the private lives of women and children, rendered with a sensitivity that avoided sentimentality. In this piece, the artist employs a light, fluid touch to define the subject's features. The application of pigment is sparse, allowing the white of the paper to function as a source of light and form.
The subject is depicted in a three-quarter view, her gaze directed downwards. The warm, earthy tones of her hair are balanced by cooler, subtle washes of blue and grey in the shadows of her clothing and the background. Cassatt uses minimal brushwork to suggest the structure of the face, prioritising the overall mood and the play of light over precise anatomical detail. The signature 'M C' in the lower corner confirms the artist's hand, typical of her works on paper from this period.
This study demonstrates the artist's mastery of the watercolour medium, a technique she utilised frequently for preparatory sketches and finished works alike. By stripping away extraneous detail, Cassatt directs the viewer's attention to the subject's expression. The composition is unforced, reflecting the Impressionist interest in capturing fleeting, everyday observations. This print reproduces the original paper texture and the transparency of the watercolour washes, offering a clear view of the artist's process and her ability to convey character with economy of means. It is a representative example of her later work, where her style became increasingly fluid and confident.
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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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Manufacturing
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
Head of a Young Woman - 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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