Motherhood is Beautiful and Sad
By: Author'S Cake
Tags: Women, Feminism, Motherhood, Art, Painting

Motherhood is Beautiful and Sad

Paula her daughter, Mathilde, 1907.

Artworks that feature vulnerable women as subjects resonate with me the most. I somehow always find myself returning to the look at Paula Modersohn-Becker’s work. Learning more about her own personal life not only heightened my interest, but it also made her work even more emotionally compelling. In art at times, we are forced to separate the art from the artist. Whether it’s because the artist has a controversial background, the artist themself tells their audience to do so, or the art cannot truly be understood with the artist in mind. Modersohn-Becker’s work most notably reflects herself and she is meant to be on your mind while viewing her work. There is no escape, no hiding, what you see in front is exact. It’s raw, unfiltered, and intimate. No matter what subjects she used, Modersohn-Becker always incorporates herself somehow. Modersohn-Becker’s ability to paint women and children in such a delicate manner makes herself and her work equally as profound. By examining her works: “Self Portrait, Age 30, Wedding day (1906) and Kneeling Mother with Child at Her Breast” (1906) their contexts and analysis support Modersohn-Becker as the epitome of expressionist art.

The Expressionist movement began as a new style for artists to evoke emotional reactions into their work during the late 19th to early 20th century. German expressionists used subjects, specific brush strokes, colors, social context, and form as a way to reveal how they felt or the hardships they were going through. They focused on the individual themself, what is directly surrounding them, and how it influences them. The goal of the work isn’t just to be aesthetically pleasing, it asks an audience what feelings are being triggered, whether by experiences, memory, story, setting, or mental state. The interpretations include the artist’s approach and the viewer’s emotional takeaway. Paula Modersohn-Becker was born in Dresden, Germany, she became pregnant at the age of 30 (which was considered a risky age at the time). She always showed interest in the arts and was a working artist before her pregnancy. When she became pregnant, Modersohn-Becker’s work truly began to take maternal form. The first trimester for pregnant women begins with hormonal and physical changes. For every woman, the signs of pregnancy before an official test differs. Whether it is missing menstrual, morning sickness, etc. Eventually, the obvious sign of a slightly growing belly begins to shape.

Self-Portrait, Age 30, 6th Wedding Day, 1906, oil

Modersohn-Becker shows us the beginning of her maternal journey in a nude self-portrait titled “Self-Portrait, Age 30, 6th Wedding Day” (25 May 1906). She paints herself topless only wearing a white skirt and yellow beaded necklace. She posed herself hugging her belly in a recognizable pose where pregnant women rest a hand above their bellies. She is showing us the changes happening to her body at the beginning of her maternal journey. As a woman’s body appears different and bigger every month, the same happens to babies. She embodies herself in an expressionist style by her choice of soft colors, an intimate pose, and soft fluid strokes. I can feel her vulnerability, the awareness of the changes beginning to form by her facial expression and pose, yet stillness in time. Her baby will continue to grow no matter what because time doesn’t stop, even if she is not present at the moment. There is a sense of purity in the way she paints her skin. We see her rosy undertones on her arms and face hinting at her innocence. Her innocence is being taken away and instead rebirthed by her baby. There are no harsh drastic lines. This work wants every viewer to just be in the moment with her and her new addition as the focus.

Although motherhood, especially the first practice of it, is quite beautiful, it is also important to recognize the unfortunate toll it takes on a woman’s body. “Following the then-common practice of putting women to bed rest for two-four weeks after delivery, Paula Mohersohn-Becker died of massive pulmonary embolism when she was first allowed to stand, eighteen days after giving birth” (Piccoli, G.B., Karakas, S.L, 1). Mohersohn-Becker’s bond with her baby and short time lived with her stresses the importance to notice the relationship between mother and child when she painted these subjects.

Kneeling Mother and Child, 1907.

Paula Modersohn-Becker ‘s “Kneeling Mother with Child at Her Breast” (1906) takes a nonrealist approach yet still gives a german expressionist feel. There are noticeably bright colors, bold lighting, and shadow. The woman kneeling directly under a spotlight takes on the caregiver role and literally uses her body as a tool to keep her baby alive. Orange-colored fruits are surrounding them, giving the possibility this takes place in a garden. There is a drastic difference in the use of light and shadow between the mother and child. The mother is painted under a shadow from her face to her knee. Almost blocking her out, but still making it known she has a strong presence. In contrast, her child against her breast is completely in bright light, making it appear like a luminous gift. As the baby is being fed by the mother, the mother’s milk acts as an elixir of life making the baby appear golden and lively. The feeling in this artwork makes viewers feel safe. To witness the intimate satisfaction of being fed through a mother’s embrace. Higonnet explains this embrace as “ Her babies are not the usual tiny lifeless dolls. They have weight and mass, a material existence with needs and cries. They are emphatically naked bodies, painted as if they were still a part of their mother’s bodies. Painted with the same color and held within one outline, Modersohn-Becker represents a moment of transition in which the baby has not yet fully separated from the mother, in which it exists outside its mother’s body but cannot survive without its mother’s body. Both mother and baby are oblivious to anything but their mutual embrace” (Higonnet, 18). As I continue to linger on this painting, I imagine after the baby is fully fed, it transitions into another intimate moment such as the baby falling into a gentle sleep, then the mother begins to rock and sing to them.

What sets Paula Modersohn-Becker’s work apart is her maternal artistic abilities. She paints women and children in a distinct way that is so recognizable as her own work. When you look at her pieces and think about her, it all comes together. There is so much intimacy, life, and peace in her artworks. Paula challenges me to take my personal experiences that I’ve gone through and make something real out of them. No experience is wasted, whether short-lived or not. Having an emotional impact is important to make art truly last.

Bibliography

Piccoli, G.B., Karakas, S.L. Paula Modersohn-Becker, the challenges of pregnancy and the weight of tradition. Philos Ethics Humanit Med 6, 11 (2011).

Higonnet, Anne. “Making Babies, Painting Bodies: Women, Art, and Paula Modersohn-Becker’s Productivity.” Woman’s Art Journal 30, no. 2 (2009): 15–21.