Maternal Bonds- Barber Institute
When we think of the representation of mothers in classical art, most of us think of the biblical Madonna-and-child motif. Collections Intern Beth Brankowski was aware of this obvious connection, and so wanted to put together an exhibition that explored alternative perspectives. After attending the Tuesday talk at the Barber Institute, I left with the feeling that this had at least partially been achieved.
Beth explained that she chose the theme of motherhood due to its universal significance. Despite this, I realised I had seen few notable pieces of artwork that focus on mothers, with all of my favourite pieces depicting single figures, or embracing couples. The first artwork that Beth discussed was quite shocking in its content, focusing on the scene from Matthew's Gospel in which King Herod orders the slaughter of all male children under three. The print, by Marcantonio Raimondi, depicted soldiers in idealised classical poses, interspersed with the figures of desperate, grieving mothers. This seemed to add a striking gender dynamic to the piece, showing conflict between nurturing female and domineering male. Beth explained that Raimondi was a pioneering figure in the print revolution, allowing works to reach a much wider audience. It felt important that such a socially significant piece should be readily available to many viewers.
Perhaps the most harrowing piece in the exhibition, and indeed the only work created by a female, was Kathe Kollwitz 'Woman with Dead Child.' This etching displayed an animalistic, almost bestial woman hunched over her child's body in grief. Beth explained that Kollwitz created the piece in 1903, sketching from a mirror image of herself hunched over her child. The subject of mourning was influenced by the loss experienced by war, and in a cruel twist of fate, Kollwitz did lose her son in the early months of World War One, years after the piece was created. Viewing the etching with this retrospective knowledge made it even more powerful, despite its simple, monotone style.
Beth also spoke about John Sloan's 'The Women's Page', an etching created in 1905 as part of a series looking at urban life in New York. Many of these prints explore the public versus the private aspects of domestic life, with this print giving the snapshot view of a woman's bedroom as seen through a tenement window. She sits engrossed in a newspaper, turned to a women's lifestyle page, while her room lies in disarray, and child can be seen ignored in the background. When received in today's social climate, the piece seemed to evoke themes of capitalism consumerism, with the women infatuated by the version of life that is being sold to her in the paper. Perhaps, it also highlighted the unrealistic pressures placed on women, especially mothers, to be aesthetically desirable to the outside world.
A piece that stood out to me that was not discussed by Beth was Nicolaes Maes' Elijah and the Widow of Zarepath, which depicted a biblical scene between a prophet, a widow and her son. The sketchy, unfinished style of the piece seemed playfully expressive, almost as if it was created by the child. When looking at the piece, the eye was drawn to a large tree in the middle, associating motherhood with nature.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed that an exhibition focused on maternal bonds had only one piece created by a female. This drew attention to the lack of female-created works in general within the Barber's Collection. However, the talk was informative and it was interesting to see motherhood captured by a range of different artists, in a range of different styles.
Beth explained that she chose the theme of motherhood due to its universal significance. Despite this, I realised I had seen few notable pieces of artwork that focus on mothers, with all of my favourite pieces depicting single figures, or embracing couples. The first artwork that Beth discussed was quite shocking in its content, focusing on the scene from Matthew's Gospel in which King Herod orders the slaughter of all male children under three. The print, by Marcantonio Raimondi, depicted soldiers in idealised classical poses, interspersed with the figures of desperate, grieving mothers. This seemed to add a striking gender dynamic to the piece, showing conflict between nurturing female and domineering male. Beth explained that Raimondi was a pioneering figure in the print revolution, allowing works to reach a much wider audience. It felt important that such a socially significant piece should be readily available to many viewers.
Perhaps the most harrowing piece in the exhibition, and indeed the only work created by a female, was Kathe Kollwitz 'Woman with Dead Child.' This etching displayed an animalistic, almost bestial woman hunched over her child's body in grief. Beth explained that Kollwitz created the piece in 1903, sketching from a mirror image of herself hunched over her child. The subject of mourning was influenced by the loss experienced by war, and in a cruel twist of fate, Kollwitz did lose her son in the early months of World War One, years after the piece was created. Viewing the etching with this retrospective knowledge made it even more powerful, despite its simple, monotone style.
Beth also spoke about John Sloan's 'The Women's Page', an etching created in 1905 as part of a series looking at urban life in New York. Many of these prints explore the public versus the private aspects of domestic life, with this print giving the snapshot view of a woman's bedroom as seen through a tenement window. She sits engrossed in a newspaper, turned to a women's lifestyle page, while her room lies in disarray, and child can be seen ignored in the background. When received in today's social climate, the piece seemed to evoke themes of capitalism consumerism, with the women infatuated by the version of life that is being sold to her in the paper. Perhaps, it also highlighted the unrealistic pressures placed on women, especially mothers, to be aesthetically desirable to the outside world.
A piece that stood out to me that was not discussed by Beth was Nicolaes Maes' Elijah and the Widow of Zarepath, which depicted a biblical scene between a prophet, a widow and her son. The sketchy, unfinished style of the piece seemed playfully expressive, almost as if it was created by the child. When looking at the piece, the eye was drawn to a large tree in the middle, associating motherhood with nature.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed that an exhibition focused on maternal bonds had only one piece created by a female. This drew attention to the lack of female-created works in general within the Barber's Collection. However, the talk was informative and it was interesting to see motherhood captured by a range of different artists, in a range of different styles.
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