Mother’s Pride 1911

Franz von Defregger made this painting, Mother’s Pride, in oils. The earth-toned palette gives the scene a sense of grounded domesticity. It’s the kind of painting that makes you want to lean in and look close, not just at the subject matter, but at the evidence of the making. Looking at the mother’s blue dress, you can almost feel the weight of the fabric, thanks to the thickness of the paint. Then, when you shift your gaze to the delicate, soft folds of the cloth in her hands, there’s a sense of lightness and care, rendered with thin, translucent layers. There’s a certain tenderness to the whole scene. The way the mother looks at the child, the careful brushstrokes… it reminds me a little of Paula Modersohn-Becker, in the way she captured the quiet, everyday moments of women’s lives. But where Modersohn-Becker was really pushing at the boundaries of form, Defregger seems more interested in capturing a feeling, a mood. And there's something so generous about that.