Mary Cassatt was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. Although born in America, Cassatt spent most of her time in Paris. Seeing Paris for the first time at age seven, Cassatt fell in love with the city and its artistic culture (Getlein, 9.) Cassatt made many trips between Philadelphia and Paris witnessing wars and experiencing different cultures. While in America and during the Civil War, Cassatt studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of fine arts (Getlein, 9.) Although educated in America, Cassatt was mostly influenced by the rich culture of Paris. An American painter, she lived and worked in France, becoming a central figure of the Impressionist group, particularly to women (Web.)
In Paris Cassatt studied from the Old Masters and worked with the new. A metropolitan city enhanced by different cultures, Paris became a very influential place for Mary Cassatt and her work. Surrounded by fellow impressionists such as Edgar Degas and Berth Morisot, Cassatt was fostered in an atmosphere of experimentation, which contributed to her changes in style and technique (Barter, 213.) When in Paris, Cassatt experimented with distempler, metallic paint, pastel, gouach, watercolor, and etching, sometimes mixing a few at the same time. (Barter, 213.) One technique that particularly influenced her work in Paris was her use of Pastels. The use of pastels definitely enhanced the delicate, maternal tones to her paintings. While using pastels, Cassatt was able to capture the smoothness of a baby's skin and the rich warmth of her subjects (Getlein, 114.) Although learning a lot from the Old Masters in Italy, Spain and Paris and respecting their work, Cassatt looked forward to creating new art in new ways (Barter, 216.) She took advantage of the brightly colored pastels and unusual surface textures to create work unprecedented in her time (Barrter, 216.)
Cassatt was also turned on to Japanese woodcut prints by the French collection displayed in the 1890 Ecole des Beaux-Arts exhibition. After visiting this exhibition numerous times Cassatt began her own series (Mathews, 76.) Barter explains Cassatt's infatuation as “inspired not only by the bold linearity of the compositions and the evocative color harmonies of the prints, but also by the predominate theme, that of the daily lives and ordinary activities of women� (Barter, 82.) Although many artists caught on to the print technique, Cassatt was the first artist to successfully imitate the all aspects of the ukiyo-e prints, particularly their color (Mathews, 79.) Cassatt's first print to be deemed a true imitation was “The Bath� (1890). Imitating perspective, patterns, and colors, Cassatt was finally satisfied by her print work (Mathews, 79.) Contributing her own western style, Cassatt created numerous prints all influenced by the Japanese culture and fostered by Paris.
Mary Cassatt, "The Bath" (1890), Mary Cassatt, "Sleepy Baby" (1910), Mary Cassatt, "Margot in Blue" (1902)