page_title: Mother
section_title: In art
hierarchical_section_title: Mother / In art
context_page_description: A mother is the female parent of a child. Mothers are women who inhabit or perform the role of bearing some relation to their children, who may or may not be their biological offspring. Thus, dependent on the context, women can be considered mothers by virtue of having given birth, by raising their child, supplying their ovum for fertilisation, or some combination thereof. Such conditions provide a way of delineating the concept of motherhood, or the state of being a mother. Women who meet the third and first categories usually fall under the terms 'birth mother' or 'biological mother', regardless of whether the individual in question goes on to parent their child. Accordingly, a woman who meets only the second condition may be considered an adoptive mother, and those who meet only the first or only the third a surrogacy mother.
  An adoptive mother is a female who has become the child's parent through the legal process of adoption. A biological mother is the female genetic contributor to the creation of the infant, through sexual intercourse or egg donation. A biological mother may have legal obligations to a child not raised by her, such as an obligation of monetary support.
context_section_description: Throughout history mothers with their children have often been the subject of artistic works, such as paintings, sculptures or writings.
  Fourth century grave reliefs on the island of Rhodes depicted mothers with children.
  Paintings of mothers with their children have a long tradition in France. In the 18th century, these works embodied the Enlightenment's preoccupation with strong family bonds and the relation between mothers and children.
  At the end of the nineteenth century, Mary Cassatt was a painter well known for her portraits of mothers.
  Many contemporary movies portray mothers.
caption: Charity, by French painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau
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