Sleepy Nicolle
c. 1900
Medium
Pastel on blue-gray wove paper (faded to tan), mounted on board
Dimensions
71 × 58.5 cm (28 × 23 1/16 in.)
Classification
pastel
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
28826
Art Historical Context
Mary Cassatt's *Sleepy Nicolle*, around 1900, captures a moment of childhood repose, exemplifying the artist's lifelong fascination with intimate domestic scenes. As an American Impressionist living in France, Cassatt was a close associate of Edgar Degas and a key figure in the Impressionist movement though she often infused her work with a softer, more personal touch. By the turn of the century, her focus on mothers and children had evolved into poignant portraits like this one, reflecting the era's shifting views on family life amid rapid industrialization. Rendered in pastel on blue-gray w...
About the Artist
Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was an American painter and printmaker who became the only American artist to exhibit with the French Impressionists. Born to a wealthy Pennsylvania family, she defied social conventions to pursue art professionally, settling permanently in Paris where Edgar Degas invited her to join the Impressionist group in 1877. Her paintings of mothers and children—rendered with Impre...