There are many themes of motherhood in the Art world, which speak of the eternal and great love of a mother and hate motherhood.
The very different circumstances of artists' lives and upbringings are often evident in their works relating to mothers.
Whistler’s Mother by James McNeill Whistler
Whistler’s Mother by James McNeill Whistler
These far-reaching implications work for the artist and highly represent his painting style. The scene is dominated by large areas of black and grey. The mother sits in a chair in a room, serene and loving, with a white sarong around her neck, a white handkerchief in her hand, and a black dress covering the entire chair.
The two dominant colours of black and grey clash against each other and are then flooded with layers of harmonious white notes, and by the time the brightest frame is reached, it is as if the highest note has been reached. The painting's shape, composition and form are all subordinated to the pursuit of colour harmony and the beauty of the musical melody. This creates a poetic and mystical atmosphere in the flow of colour, the melodic beauty of music is expressed to the full.
The painting also makes a cameo appearance in the film Mr Bean. Unfortunately, it only appears for a few minutes before being lost in a sneeze.
A second version of this painting appears in the Mr Bean film.
Maternity, 1924 by Joan Miro
The symbols in this picture are suspended precariously above an area consisting of delicate shades of grey, and although the wriggly little creatures are struggling to get away from the menacing sway of a pair of breasts, they are inextricably linked to them.
Instead of evoking associations of maternal comfort, the gigantic, black pendulum - a mother's womb - reminds one of the bizarre stories of Edgar Allan Poe. The reduction of the symbolic language in this picture gives it even more precision, thus opening a deeply symbolical dimension and expressing the fears and anxieties of early childhood - feelings which have a fundamental, formative effect on a human being, because of his long period of dependence and powerlessness.
Both Whistler's Mother and Maternity are very thoughtful and meticulous painters, one with bright contrasting black and white colours, the other with mainly darker colours; Whistler's Mother's depiction is more optimistic on the subject Maternity's is more understated. However, they share a similarity in that they also painted more minor elements to enhance their thoughts and statements about mothers outside of the subject matter.
In this way, I can refer to how some smaller ideas can be used in paintings or works to enhance or push up the atmosphere and storytelling of the whole piece.
Comments