Example comparison: Mother and Child

An example of a comparison between a family photo and an art history image:



          Mother and daughter, 1995                  The Child's Caress, Mary Cassatt- 1890



This photo of me and my mother bears a remarkable similarity to Mary Cassatt's The Child's Caress, but there is a deeper reason for this comparison. Cassatt's skill in portraying the subjects of mother and child is demonstrated by it's being so close to a real life action, which shows that our image-making is not only affected by that of art history, but that of art history is affected by us. In fact, this same pose has been used for far longer than I could imagine to show the bond between the most famous mother and child pair- Madonna and Child. It is interesting that what is essentially an impulse on the part of the child has come to be romanticised and made so symbolic.

Madonna and Child, Duccio de Buoninsegna- 1300

Madonna and Child with a Pomegranate, Leonardo da Vinci- 1480

Madonna and Child, Lucas Cranach the Elder- 1518