Lot Essay
Throughout her career, Cassatt was absorbed by the subject of mother and child and the interaction of these two central players in every day life. In this image, as in many others, the mother and child gaze into each other's eyes, totally engulfed in each other; remarkably unaware that they are being watched and portrayed by the artist. Delightfully surprising in this image is the ability of Cassatt to portray the animation and motion of the child wriggling in her mother's arms. Quite often, Cassatt's works show the sitters in stoic, formal poses. In this work, however, Cassatt portrays a snapshot of mother and child at a moment of great energy and delight. Clearly, the highlights of the baby's white face and the beautiful blue of the baby's eyes draw the attention of the viewer. Cassatt must have intended for us to share the view of the mother at a magical moment such as this.
In Mother Louise Holding up Her Blue-eyed Child, which was executed in the suburbs of Paris circa 1899, the mother is Louise Frissier of Fresneaux, Mont Chevreuil. Ms. Frissier and her baby were the subjects of several other works by Cassatt, most notably Mother Louise, Nursing Her Baby (Breeskin, no. 310). Breeskin noted that the artist was particularly fascinated by the citizens of the Oise region where the artist had a country home. Cassatt remarked that the women of the surrounding villages, such as Fresneaux, appeared healthy, beautiful and unspoiled. Characteristics that most certainly held a great allure for the artist.
The year of 1899, when this pastel was completed, was an interesting time for the artist. Cassatt had just completed a lengthy journey to visit with the Gardners in Philadelphia and the Hammonds of Boston in the Autumn and early Winter of 1899. Returning to France, Cassatt's work of late 1899 and continuing into the early 1900s seemed to exhibit a sense of reinvigoration that is apparent in the present painting. The artist displayed a renewed sense of convidence and spontaniety that reminds us of her most successful and celebrated works.
There is a counterproof of this image, (Breeskin, no. 313), which originally belonged to Vollard and is part of a group of 13 counterproofs in the permanent collection of the National Museum in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
This pastel will be included in the Cassatt Committee's revision of Adelyn Dohme Breeskin's catalogue raisonné of the works of Mary Cassatt.
In Mother Louise Holding up Her Blue-eyed Child, which was executed in the suburbs of Paris circa 1899, the mother is Louise Frissier of Fresneaux, Mont Chevreuil. Ms. Frissier and her baby were the subjects of several other works by Cassatt, most notably Mother Louise, Nursing Her Baby (Breeskin, no. 310). Breeskin noted that the artist was particularly fascinated by the citizens of the Oise region where the artist had a country home. Cassatt remarked that the women of the surrounding villages, such as Fresneaux, appeared healthy, beautiful and unspoiled. Characteristics that most certainly held a great allure for the artist.
The year of 1899, when this pastel was completed, was an interesting time for the artist. Cassatt had just completed a lengthy journey to visit with the Gardners in Philadelphia and the Hammonds of Boston in the Autumn and early Winter of 1899. Returning to France, Cassatt's work of late 1899 and continuing into the early 1900s seemed to exhibit a sense of reinvigoration that is apparent in the present painting. The artist displayed a renewed sense of convidence and spontaniety that reminds us of her most successful and celebrated works.
There is a counterproof of this image, (Breeskin, no. 313), which originally belonged to Vollard and is part of a group of 13 counterproofs in the permanent collection of the National Museum in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
This pastel will be included in the Cassatt Committee's revision of Adelyn Dohme Breeskin's catalogue raisonné of the works of Mary Cassatt.