Young Woman Sewing in a Garden by Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt completed Young Woman Sewing in a Garden between 1880 and 1882. Like Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, Cassatt experimented with bold compositions. In Young Woman Sewing in a Garden, the figure is pushed up to the very surface of the picture plane, while the garden path behind her cuts across the back of the canvas in a diagonal axis. But in contrast to Edgar Degas's tight drawing style, Mary Cassatt handled her paint with a loose and confident stroke.

Young Woman Sewing in a Garden by Mary Cassatt (oil on canvas, 36-1/4x24-3/8 inches) resides in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

Besides studying the lives of women, Cassatt was interested in examining the daily lives of children. Next, we'll see a painting where Cassatt turns her talents toward that aim.

For more on Impressionist paintings, artists, and art history, see:

• Impressionism
• Vincent van Gogh
• Claude Monet