Moderen, der lokker barnet til sig ved at vise det sit bryst 1860

Lorenz Frølich created this drawing called 'Mother Luring Her Child by Showing Her Breast' in Denmark, at a time when ideas about motherhood were changing. The image taps into a classical ideal. Its soft lines and natural setting, give it a timeless feel. But it also speaks to 19th-century debates about women's roles. Was a woman's primary purpose to nurture and care for children? Or should she have opportunities beyond the domestic sphere? Frølich, who worked at the Statens Museum for Kunst, would have been aware of these issues. Was he idealizing motherhood or commenting on its limitations? Art historians look at such details, tracing how artists both reflect and shape the values of their time, using resources from archives, museums, and libraries to put the artwork in context. Art's meaning is always tied to the society that produces it.