Interieur met een vrouw met een kind op schoot 1854 - 1914

Albert Neuhuys created this pencil drawing of a woman holding a child in her lap. The woman, seated and hunched, cradles the child in a protective gesture. The motif of a mother and child has a deep resonance throughout art history, echoing ancient depictions of goddesses and their offspring, and, of course, Christian images of the Madonna and Child. This configuration is not merely a representation of familial love; it embodies the universal themes of nurture, protection, and the cyclical nature of life. Compare this humble sketch with a Renaissance Madonna, and you will see how archetypes emerge in all forms of representation. Such images, regardless of their cultural origin, tap into our collective memory, evoking a sense of primal connection and shared human experience. The way the mother in Neuhuys’ drawing holds her child is a tender echo of those countless representations, engaging viewers on a subconscious level. And so, the past resurfaces, transformed yet familiar, in Neuhuys's tender sketch.