Mary Cassatt, after the great exhibition of Japanese prints held in Paris in 1890, brings out at Durand-Ruel's her series of ten colored prints—e.g., Woman Bathing (1890-91; Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.) and The Coiffure (1890-91; Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)—in which the influence of the Japanese masters Utamaro and Toyokuni is apparent.
In these etchings, combining aquatint, dry point, and soft ground, she brings her printmaking technique to perfection.
Her emphasis shifts from form to line and pattern.