Have you ever gone to the museum and glanced at paintings but had to do a double take because a painting grabbed your attention so strongly? This is what happened to me when I saw the painting by Pablo Picasso entitled Mother and Child 1901. This painting was done during what was called the Blue Period.
“Picasso’s Blue Period was in 1900 and ended in 1904.” (unknown, Pablo Picasso's Blue Period 1901-1904, 2009) All of his paintings during this period were created in shades of blue and blue-green with other colors occasionally. Picasso had many paintings that had the same title but in different time periods. Paintings by Picasso brought out warm and loving feelings in my heart. This one particular had me to think of the joys of being a mother.
I chose this painting by Picasso because it is warm and loving. You can see and feel how much the mother and child loved and cared for each other by their embrace. The mother clothed in a dark blue wrap that covers her head and continues around her body; has her right hand softly touching the back of her child’s head. She is delicately bending down towards the child as she kisses him/her on the forehead. It is hard to tell if the child is a boy or girl. The child is in a light blue gown with matching slippers.
His/her head is tilted upward to welcome the kiss from his/her mother. It appears that the child has brought the mother a piece of fruit. Based on the colors of orange and pale yellow, it could possibly be an orange, mango or peach. The mother has a basket next to the black rocking chair she is sitting in. There is a white cloth in the basket along with some thread and scissors.
It looks like the child brought the fruit while the mother was sewing. The child may have wanted his/her mother to take a break and eat something.When I first saw this painting, I thought of Mary and Jesus. It evoked feelings in me of warmth, love and pure joy. As I look at the way the mother expresses the love for her child, I can put myself in her place and feel how much she loves her child. I can feel my hand embracing the soft hair on the child’s head and the soft kiss being placed on his/her forehead.
To me the blue color of her wrap evokes the feeling of comfort. I can also feel the child’s heart being warmed from the kiss he/she receives from the mother. The mother has her eyes closed as she kisses the child on his/her forehead. I can see that the kiss is a result of the fruit that the child has brought to her. In this painting it appears that the child is in his/her night clothing and is preparing for bed as the mother is busy sewing a piece of clothing in the basket. I can feel that this special moment between mother and child is a soft and loving moment.
Pablo Picasso has many paintings that have the women seem to have a religious resemblance to Mary and the child possibly to Jesus. I can see that Picasso held religion as an important part of most of his paintings. I felt that Picasso viewed this painting as one of love from a mother to a child and vice versa. He painted the love of them as beautiful and distinctively warmly. I love how the child shows that he/she loves the attention his/her mother is giving and love they express between them. If I was a mother and alive in Picasso’s time, I would have asked him to paint a portrait of me and my children.
Perhaps I will come across a painting from this century that resembles Picasso’s and it will make me feel warm and full of love as well.
