Mother and Child (Femme et Enfant) and The Bath
Project
Mary Cassatt
Volunteer:
Date:
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Artist: Mary Cassatt
Print Sculpture: Mother and Child (Femme et Enfant) and The Bath
Art Vocabulary:

I. The Artist
Mary Cassatt was born in our country in the state of Pennsylvania in 1844. When she was around your age, she moved to Paris, France and grew up there. She came back to Pennsylvania as a grown-up and began to study painting there. But she soon decided to go back to Paris because it is a famous city for studying art. She lived in France for the rest of her life.

Many other women of her time studied painting, but Mary Cassatt was one of the first women ever to become a famous artist. Most famous artists then (and now) were men. She was also the first American artist whose paintings were shown with a famous group of painters called the French Impressionists. Today, her paintings are shown in museums all over the world, including our museum, The Art Institute of Chicago.

All painters have favorite things they like to paint. Mary Cassatt’s favorite things to paint were mothers and children doing everyday things. But she never married or had children of her own.

* * * * *

Mary Cassatt lived from 1844–1926. It took a lot of determination on her part to become a well-known artist:
  • It was difficult for a woman to be a successful artist in the 19th century. Painting was not regarded as a "respectable" profession, although it was expected of a rich young lady that she should develop a certain skill in drawing and painting watercolors.
  • It was difficult for Mary Cassatt to become a well-known American artist since she did not way to be a traditional artist. She chose to associate herself with the Impressionist painters, and especially the "realist" Degas. It was not until she was almost 60 years of age that Americans began to give her the recognition she deserved and to buy her works.
Her parents moved to France when she was still a little girl. She could speak French and other European languages fluently.
To become a painter, she studied in the U.S. at first, then came to Paris, and traveled to Italy, too. She studied painting by looking at what other artists had done before her, copying their works, and finally creating her own style.
She came to Paris at the time when it was the acknowledged art capital of the world. It was a time of intellectual ferment in the French capital. A time of change. Writers were expressing new ideas in literature, art followed. There was a mounting movement of rebellion against traditional art which was still admired by critics, taught in schools, and hung in museums. The rebels came to be known as Impressionists. They rejected the subject matter and techniques of the painters who were famous at the time.
II. The Paintings: Mother and Child (Femme et Enfant) and The Bath
Woman and Child
  • What colors do you see in the painting? Are they "subdued?"
  • Few lines
  • Mother and child subject matter
  • Do you like the way that certain items are only suggested (like the eyes and a smile) but not finished?
  • What title would you give this painting?
  • How do you feel when you look at this painting?
  • Do you like this painting?
The Bath

It is a picture of a mom giving her little girl, who is about 4 or 5 years old, a bath the old-fashioned way, by pouring water from a pitcher into a large bowl and washing all the parts of her body. Here she is washing her feet.

One of her most famous works; Can be see at the Art Institute of Chicago; This shows a mother giving her daughter (about your age) a bath. How is this different from the way you take a bath? (Explain about running water and separate rooms for bathing.)

Can you name everything you see in the painting? (Dresser, carpet, wallpaper, pitcher, basin).

What is the mother sitting on? (Must be a stool, but can’t be seen)

Where do you see straight lines in this picture? (Carpet only. All other lines – even dresser edge and "straight" dress stripes – looked curved. Cassatt was known for slightly curving, softened lines)

What’s the main thing you look at in the picture? (Mother and child. Even though there are many other strong shapes and lines.)
III. Description, Analysis, Interpretation and Judgment
  • Let’s list everything we see here. Let’s pretend we’re talking on the phone. Can you name the things in the picture so I’ll recognize it?
  • I’m pretending I can’t speak English. Can you tell me the names of the things I’m pointing to? Are there any I missed?
  • Look for one minute and see how much you remember. Turn your back to the painting and try to name what was there.
  • Which shape is boss? Which are her helpers?
  • Do the colors get along with each other? Are they quiet or noisy? Fighting or friendly?
  • Find a line and follow it with your eyes. With your hand show how it moves. If it were on a playground, how would you play on it? slide, swing, climb?
  • How does this painting make you feel?
  • What kind of mom do you think this is? What do you think she is saying to her little girl?
  • Pretend you’re 2 inches high and you can just walk into this room. What do you think is over here or around the corner? What sounds do you hear?
  • What happened just before this scene? What happened right after this?
  • Would you pick this picture to hang in your own house? Which room would you put it in? Why?
  • Why would someone want to paint a picture like this?
  • Which do you like most: The story the picture tells, the shapes and colors and designs in it or the way it makes you feel when you look at it?
  • Compare to Grandma Moses, artist from last month.
IV. Artist’s Materials or Techniques
Curving lines and subdued colors; how do these make the viewer feel? Calm, happy, snuggly.
V. Students’ Self-Expression: Guided Activity
Let the children draw a picture of themselves with their mothers (or other special person, such as a sister, grandfather, etc.) If there is time, encourage the children to verbalize what makes their mothers so special. What kinds of activities do they love to share with that special person? Write their statements on the board and help them create a little poem from this.
Give to each child a copy of the Mary Cassatt etching, "Baby’s Back" and a piece of tracing paper. Show everyone how very simple the lines of the drawing seem to be, how life-like the baby who clings to his mother’s neck is. Then, ask each child to trace the etching.
Spend five minutes afterwards recording the children’s feelings for their mothers in order to create a sort of little poem to be typed later and attached to the tracing. Questions can be asked to help the children express themselves. Record the names of the children along with their answers.
Put the tracing in an oval-shaped frame or card made of construction paper, organize the lines of the "poem" and type them inside the card. This can be given by the children to their Moms for Christmas or Valentine’s Day.
or
Cards: Construction paper with inserted poems for their mothers with a line to insert their favorite things to do with her. Pre-cut cards to fold with copies of the poem were provided to the children to decorate and complete. The cards and insert materials were put into individual ziploc bags for each child.
or
Materials: Drawing paper, pencil for sketching, crayons for coloring
Sketch and color a picture of you and your mom doing something special together. Use invented spelling to say what you’re doing. Write your name on your drawing.
VI. Books on Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt, Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists, by Mike Venezia (in folder and part of this site).
Katie Meets the Impressionists, by James Mayhew (from Riverside Library). Does not actually talk about Mary Cassatt.
Additional information for project

Additional information on Mary Cassatt