Five paintings that capture the complexity of motherhood – chosen by art historians

Conversation

The following opinion piece was written by Professor Pragya Agarwal, of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, for the Conversation.

The complex relationship between mother and child is no easy thing to capture on canvas. For Mother’s Day, we asked five experts to share their favourite painting of a mother or maternal figure.

  1. Hunting for Lice by Gerard ter Borch (1652)

This small painting, displayed in the Mauritshuis in The Hague, is of a scene that might be familiar to any carer for nursery- or school-aged children today. Gerard ter Borch captures the look of concentrated maternal resolve and patient resignation by the child, who is probably a boy, judging by his smock and the ball in his hand.

The painting, Hunting for Lice by Gerard ter Borch (1652)

Marius Kwint is a reader in visual culture

  1. Madonna of the Pilgrims by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1603-5)

Caravaggio’s altarpiece, the Madonna of the Pilgrims, offers a beguiling mixture of the ordinary and the extraordinary. The setting is minimal, plain and achingly mundane: a doorframe with chipped masonry; some exposed bricks; a stone doorstep. A young mother – beautiful, but a little down-at-heel – supports a weighty infant on her hip.

Continues…

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For the full article by Professor Pragya Agarwal visit the Conversation.

ENDS

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