The painter Mary Cassatt is often discussed as an American artist who, at the end of the nineteenth century, became…

The painter Mary Cassatt is often discussed as an American artist who, at the end of the nineteenth century, became intimately involved with the European Impressionists and strongly recommended them to American collectors. Her work often focuses on the depiction of informal domestic life. Compare the domestic scene featured in her Mother and Child of 1905 with the idyllic scene depicted in Kenyon Cox’s Eclogue, from 1890. What are the differences in the themes of these paintings? How does the choice of styles — Impressionism by Cassatt and Realism by Cox — fit with the content of each painting? How do you think the gender of the painters informs their choice of themes and treatments?