NOTES
This print invites viewers into a charming domestic interior, with a woman offering her visitor tea. Mary Cassatt was inspired by Japanese woodblock prints for their delicate washes of color and compressed space. After seeing an exhibition of Japanese prints in 1890, she wrote to Berthe Morisot, “Seriously, you must not miss that . . . I dream of it and don’t think of anything else but color on copper.” Soon after, she made a series of color prints, seeking to emulate the Japanese style on an etching plate.
Japan reopened trade with western Europe in 1853. Japanese artworks suddenly became available in Paris and other global markets, feeding a European obsession with objects from distant cultures. Many artists and collectors typically had little understanding of these objects’ original meaning. Yet some, including Cassatt, appreciated the unique style of Japanese art and drew from it in the development of their own modern artistic language.
