A young figure leans on an older figure’s lap, her full face in sight to the viewer, while the older figure in the composition is looking down and sewing, about three fourths of her face visible. Mary Cassatt, the creator of this painting titled Young Mother Sewing, makes the child’s facial expression more defined. She does this by adding contrasting colors (a pinkish red on a peach-white) on her cheeks, and makes her eyes stand out by adding a black for the eyes’ irises. This causes another contrast between the black and the peach-white. On the younger figure’s face as well, Cassatt barely blends the colors. On the older figure’s face, it is less defined by blending more of the peach-white and the pinkish red.
Cassatt makes the background a very creamy green by mixing the two primary colors, blue and yellow, with a great amount of white. In some places, a very light brown is visible, in which she mixed it in. As well as the brown, you can see some blue. The blue is a very light blue causing less of a contrast between the green and the blue. For the window pane color, she makes it a grayish white, more gray than white. There is a crack to the left of the older figure, and Cassatt makes this crack defined by adding a streak of white and a tiny streak of black that is about the width of the older figure’s face.
To the left of both of the figures, there is a vase filled with dark yellow and light red roses, and an empty glass vase. The base color of the vase is a white, but the blue that is reflecting from the blue painting on the vase gives it a blueish look. To give it more of a 3D look, there is a slight cast shadow a 3D surface. The cast shadow isn’t that defined, but in order for the viewers to notice the shadow, she adds a slight reflection of the vase.
The mother in this particular painting, is wearing clothing that consists of the colors black, white, light blue, and peach. The girl is wearing a white dress but in order for it to have a 3D appearance, she adds a gray color to make creases in the dress.
