Modern Woman
My 12 year old leaned into my side, curled into a ball, as we turned the pages of an art book. Studying the pictures, mostly of women with children, I discovered somewhat of a kindred spirit in this artist from the late 19th/early 20th century. Mary Cassatt was an American artist who found beauty in simple domestic scenes. There is a tenderness with which she paints women and children, something that I often find missing in the art of men. She captures very ordinary moments and floods them with meaning. The Child's Bath. 1893As a mother, I find her pictures poignant, a much needed reminder that beauty really is found in all these ordinary moments in life where I can feel hidden, tired, and unnoticed in the quiet existence of my home. With picture after picture, she speaks of the wonder found in this overlooked ministry of motherhood. I think we need more voices reverberating through culture today espousing the incredible value of mothers. Art has such power to speak into culture. …
