Artwork Page for Mother and Child

Details / Information for Mother and Child

Mother and Child

1929–1930

Jacques Lipchitz

(French, born in Lithuania, 1891–1973)
Culture
France, 20th century
Medium
bronze
Measurements
Overall: 130.2 x 90.2 x 87.7 cm (51 1/4 x 35 1/2 x 34 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund with a contribution from Bernard J. Reis 1955.166
Copyright
© The Estate of Jacques Lipchitz
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
001C ArtLens Exhibition
Print
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Did You Know?

Lipchitz began as a Cubist sculptor but moved away from sculptural geometric forms in the 1920s.

Description

A child rides on the back of his bird-like mother in this monumental sculpture by Jacques Lipchitz. The motif of mother and child has been explored countless times in art, and is often charged with strong emotion. While at first glance this sculpture may seem tender, the child digs his fingers aggressively into his mother’s breasts. The artist embraced imagery of mothers and children throughout his career, and related his interest in this theme to his relationship with his own mother. This sculpture is subjective, or open to interpretation; while one viewer may see an image of affection, another may see brutality and oppression.
Abstracted, dark brown, bronze sculpture of a kneeling woman carrying a child on her back, both with thick, squared limbs with smoothed corners. The mother's arms narrow to wing shapes rather than hands as her angular face turns to look back at the child. The child's head showing from behind the mother's, the child wraps their arms around the mother to grip her breasts with short, triangular fingers. Short hashes texture the bronze.

Mother and Child

1929–1930

Jacques Lipchitz

(French, born in Lithuania, 1891–1973)
France, 20th century

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