With Mother’s Day fast approaching, this article explores the representation of motherhood in art. Many artists have depicted mothers in their works. We are looking at how our artists have dealt with this subject, both historically and aesthetically.

Being a mother and motherhood can be considered as sublime. As a society, we are becoming more and more convinced that being a mother is one of the most challenging aspects of life, and that the art of conception is truly a wonder of nature. Producing artworks for many artists can be a likened to childbirth. From the seed of an idea to its creation can be painful, overwhelming, exhilarating and euphoric. The artworks presented here will treat this as such.

Representation of the mother

Philosopher Immanuel Kant states that sublime had to do with transcendence (primarily of terror), and women were incapable of achieving this due to having to give birth. Furthermore, what was of the body (such as pregnancy and birthing) was considered grotesque (as concluded in Mikhail Bakhtin’s history of the grotesque, in the book Rabelais and his World).

Later, art critic John Ruskin makes a radical suggestion that brings the ideas of sublime and grotesque together, revealing the links between them:

‘if the objects of horror, in which the terrible gro­tesque finds its materials, were contemplated in their true light, and with the entire energy of the soul, they would cease to be grotesque, and become altogether sublime’.

For the first time, it is left to the imagination of the viewer to decide whether something is beautiful. Thus demonstrating that, if we are not distracted by what has been taught as grotesque, and we could find the marvel and imagination within us, we would detect the sublime in most things.

Sabina Pieper’s art illustrates this beautifully, who in the construction of her formidable, maternal figures, uses elements that startle. Yet, these are the elements that ultimately give her work its sublime quality.

Motherhood then comes to be regarded differently, as we start to recognise that, even by Kantian standards, women do indeed “transcend terror” through birth. They go through a terrifying experience to produce life, the most beautiful thing.

Kant also sees beauty as “purposiveness without purpose”. Therefore, as women’s only purpose was to bear children, it was not possible to view this as beautiful. As society is evolving, and having children is no longer the sole purpose of a woman, motherhood can be beautiful.

Madonna and child

Another celebrated and classical theme is the Madonna and Child, which comes from biblical representation. This is traditionally an honourable status for a woman, as a child is brought from motherly love, who redeems the world from sin (Stuart, Evelyn Marie).

A different approach to this is Davide Galbiati’s “My Little Sunset”. This is what the artist has to say about the piece:

“My little sunset is a sculpture made of linden wood. It evokes the sunset, a moment that I consider to be the most intense of the day. It is a time when the day turns into night, when the outside becomes inside, a time when we feel our spirit gathering in deep intimacy.”

We come to understand that this piece is tied to parenthood, through his ideas of sunsets as intense moments of deep intimacy. It just seems as if the figure is lovingly holding someone that they see as their little sunshine.

Children

There are several works on show in the gallery celebrating children. Evelyn Marie Stuart points out in her essay “Motherhood in Art” that the representation of children in ancient Greece, showed children as beautiful yet, motherhood not considered so. We can see this in how Cupid represents love and seen as an endearing baby with wings. Thus, children were the living embodiment of love.

Elizabeth Price’s Jig has the same playful quality as a Cupid or Peter Pan, which invites us to fall in love with him.

Other childlike figures in the gallery:

Mother Earth

I could not ignore the link to Mother Earth, or Mother Nature, a Greek-Roman conception of nature as a woman; seeing women as irrational, without calm and reason, but at the same time protective and caring, such as the planet is for us.

Our recent exhibition, "Ephemeral Landscapes", included artist Hannah Ivory Baker, who is a master at representing changing weather and ever-evolving landscapes and transmits precisely the energy that we expect from our Mother Earth.

This is what Hannah says about natural landscapes and their turbulent, unexpected nature:

‏“There is nothing uniform about the natural world; weather changes in an instant without warning, the sea moves from tranquil to turbulent, a blue sky suddenly fills with dense grey cloud, and an earthy petrichor fills the air; the semi-abstract nature of each piece is a nod to the asymmetry and the unexpected”

We want to celebrate motherhood and mothers past, present and future for their continual support and unconditional love.

All artworks mentioned are presently available, so please enquire at gallery@kelliemillerarts.com for more information on any of the pieces. We treat enquiries on a first-come, first-served basis.

With thanks to Alexandra Motiu for her contribution to this article.

References:

Stuart, Evelyn Marie. “Motherhood in Art.” Fine Arts Journal, vol. 19, no. 12, 1908. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25587121. Accessed 8 Mar. 2020.

Rye, G., 2018. Motherhood In Literature And Culture. New York [etc.]: Routledge, pp.72-77.

Liss, A., 2009. Feminist Art And The Maternal. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Bachtin, M., 2009. Rabelais And His World. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.