Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Reclining Mother and Child II by Paula Modersohn-Becker

Candy Bedworth 14 May 2023 min Read

Does any image say primal love more than this powerful painting by Paula Modersohn-Becker? It is an artwork that includes not just children but also beautifully portrays the love that adults, parents and carers bestow on the young and vulnerable of our species.

Paula Modersohn Becker Mother and Child
Paula Modersohn-Becker, Reclining Mother and Child II, 1906, Kunsthalle Bremen, Bremen, Germany.

It is said that children require love above all things. And that is what we see in the image above, Paula Modersohn-Becker’s Mother And Child Reclining.

Mother and child face each other, completely oblivious to us, the viewer. This is not a traditional reclining nude, staged to titillate the male gaze. This is a woman’s sensuality and animal-like love for her offspring – primal and potent.

The monumental life-size figure curls around her child, offering warmth. There is a sense of protection here, in the drawn-up legs of the mother. There is tenderness in the gentle cradling of the head.

There is nothing here to signify time or place. The mother and child are unclothed, there is no backdrop, no hairstyle to tell us who or what they are – the world is shrunk to their circle of intimacy. They could be ancients in a cave, she could be the new mother next door.

child paula modersohn becker
Paula Modersohn-Becker, Girl With Child, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands. 

Modersohn-Becker often painted children, partly because they were easily accessible in the family homes around her studio. They were real, unsentimental. She was born in Germany and was one of the most important members of the early Expressionist movement, although she sold only three paintings in her lifetime. She was the first female painter to experiment with nude self-portraits.

Just after finishing Mother and Child Reclining in 1906, Modersohn-Becker wrote to her sister,

I am becoming something – I am living the most intensely happy period of my life.

Paula Modersohn-Becker quoted in Artland.

Sadly, she was to die just a year later.

Modersohn Becker had given birth to a daughter on 2 November 1907. She was prescribed total bed rest for two weeks, something often imposed on new mothers at that age, but now known to be risky. On rising, she suffered a fatal embolism.

Momentarily she had held both of her passions – her art and her child. She was thriving and passionate. Baby Mathilde was just 18 days old when her mother died suddenly, and without warning, on 20 November 1907. Modersohn-Becker’s last words were “What a pity.”

Paula Modersohn-Becker Mother Child, Stillende Mutte, 1902
Paula Modersohn-Becker, Stillende Mutter, 1902, Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany.

These days when we read of poverty, neglect, child slavery and child prostitution, let us remember that each of us has something to offer to the children of the world. You don’t need to be a parent to know that we owe food and shelter, security and safety, education and good health to all the children on our planet. And, of course, love.

Get your daily dose of art

Click and follow us on Google News to stay updated all the time

Recommended

Marie-Denise Villers, Self-Portrait, 1802, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait by Marie-Denise Villers

Self-Portrait by Marie-Denise Villers showcases the genius of a leading female artist of Napoleonic...

James W Singer 10 March 2024

Gerrit Dou, Dog at Rest, 1650, oil on oak panel, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Dog at Rest by Gerrit Dou

Gerrit Dou’s Dog at Rest is a masterpiece of Dutch genre painting, perfect for both dog enthusiasts and art...

James W Singer 25 February 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird by Frida Kahlo

The story of Frida Kahlo is narrated through her artworks. She left an indelible mark on the art world with her emotionally charged and...

Celia Leiva Otto 29 February 2024

Ramesses II, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, 1279–1254 BCE, granodiorite, Temple of Amun, Karnak Temple Complex, Thebes (Luxor), Egypt, Museo Egizio, Turin, Italy. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Ramesses II

The statue of Ramesses II is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian sculpture that proclaims the royal majesty and prowess of Ramesses the...

James W Singer 11 February 2024