Stillende Mutter 1927

Editor: This is Max Pechstein’s "Stillende Mutter," or "Nursing Mother," created in 1927. It’s an ink drawing. It feels so intimate and tender, but also slightly melancholic, with those muted tones and closed eyes. How do you interpret this work, looking at it through the lens of formal analysis? Curator: The composition is immediately striking. Note the careful arrangement of lines creating tonal variation; dense hatching forms shadows, modelling the figures with subtle realism. Consider the foregrounding of the mother's hand. It is not merely supporting the breast but gestures outwards, drawing the viewer into the intimate space. Its scale seems disproportionate but acts as a counterweight to the composition, keeping your eye from moving away. Editor: Yes, that hand! I noticed it too, the scale is intriguing. I am thinking of Pechstein's background with Expressionism... Is this some kind of comment on motherhood? Curator: From a purely formal perspective, it's less about direct commentary and more about the relationship between forms. The lines generate both subjects and create a closed, sheltered field of attention; observe how the mother's closed eyes contrast with the actively feeding child. The lack of external view amplifies that intimacy. It is about creating form through considered marks. Editor: I see, so it is more about the interplay of form and technique to evoke that specific emotion, more so than directly illustrating an experience. I initially missed so much in the hatching! Thanks! Curator: Precisely. By concentrating on the artist's marks and their arrangement, the underlying poignancy emerges, less as a narrative, and more as a consequence of artistic intention and form.