Mother and Child; Woman and Girl by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Mother and Child; Woman and Girl 1924

carving, sculpture

17_20th-century

photo of handprinted image

aged paper

woman

carving

pastel soft colours

muted colour palette

ink paper printed

white palette

feminine colour palette

child

sculpture

expressionism

watercolour illustration

soft colour palette

watercolor

"Mother and Child; Woman and Girl" (1924) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is a powerful depiction of a woman in a white dress, holding a child (not visible) hidden within her arms. Kirchner, a prominent member of the German Expressionist movement, utilizes bold lines and exaggerated forms to convey the emotional intensity of the scene. The woman's stance and her gaze create a sense of strength and resilience. The artwork is housed in the Städel Museum and is a testament to Kirchner's exploration of motherhood and the complexities of human relationships.

Comments

stadelmuseum over 1 year ago

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Protect or let go? The mother's gestures are ambiguous: she holds her daughter firmly with one hand but pushes her away with the other. Parental experience speaks through her sad gaze, while the child looks at the world with its big, innocent eyes. In contrast to the simplified form of the bodies and the coarsely hewn surface of the figures, Kirchner devotes himself here with bizarre precision of detail to the sexuality of the girl: her vagina is painted red. Inspired by art from outside Europe, this wood sculpture is one of a series of representations of couples created during the mid-1920s.