Impression of History's Past

1. Upon first glance of Mary Cassatt's painting 'Young Mother Sewing' I immediately am staring into the face of the worn-looking mother. Her eyes are set in concentration while she stares down at her task at hand; sewing a dress and keeping account of her young child.

2. I described the mother's face as worn because to me, it looks as if she's been working hard at her tasks. Her chestnut hair is starting to fall out of her once well put together bun, and a single curl is laying limp on her forehead. The mother has her back to the window, shielding her and her young child's eyes from the outside world. She is purely domesticated and seems to not want any distractions from the nature behind her back.

3. The painter manages to achieve a solemn feeling in the painting. For as I mentioned the mother's face is anything but gleeful and even her child is sitting with a bored expression as he or she rests their hand on their chin. However the serious feeling of the mother is contrasted with the bright colors of the flowers next to her. I wonder if the artist did this to lighten up the painting both visually and emotionally?

4. The main purpose of this painting is to show how women once used to live. They were the primary providers for their children. They were also the caretakers of their homes and often had to balance the responsibilities of taking care of household chores, while also keeping their young ones entertained. If anything I think this painting shows how far we've come as a society. Mother's are now working citizens and are not always the primary care takers of their children. More and more often men are choosing to stay home while their wives perform tasks in various work fields, therefor Cassatt's painting is the impression of history's past, and fortunately is not that of the future.