The Child’s Bath

The Child’s Bath is one of Mary Cassatt’s most admired works, showing a mother gently bathing her young daughter’s feet. The elevated, tilted viewpoint, flattened patterns, and bold contours reflect the influence of the Japanese ukiyo-e prints Cassatt collected, while the subject itself — the intimate world of women and children — is one she treated with unusual seriousness. The painting is held in the Art Institute of Chicago.