Motherly Love 

Editor: So, this is “Motherly Love” by Frederick Morgan. It’s an oil painting depicting a mother and child in a tender embrace. The overall feeling is one of sweetness and intimacy, like a genre painting portraying the everyday. How do you interpret this work? Curator: For me, the power of this painting lies in its materiality and the processes embedded within its creation and intended reception. Consider the smooth application of the oil paint, seemingly effortlessly rendering the folds of fabric and the softness of skin. This very smoothness, this consumable visual 'finish,' hides the labour involved. How do we account for the social context and its relation to labour in the art world, with a rising middle class desiring palatable portrayals of domestic bliss? Editor: That’s a fascinating way to look at it, focusing on the hidden labour. I was mainly seeing the surface, the tenderness, and didn't consider the work involved in creating that illusion. Curator: Exactly. And what does that labor signify? Who were the artist's patrons? What materials were available? Did that accessibility and their quality contribute to a boom in portraiture for the middle class during this time? Editor: So, by focusing on the materials and the means of production, we can actually understand more about the social and economic context of the art, and its viewers, rather than just interpreting what's represented. Curator: Precisely. It moves beyond sentimental subject matter and allows us to unpack the complex relationship between artistic labor, material culture, and consumerism within Victorian society. How do you think a painting like this functioned within that system? Editor: I now think it provided an aspirational image for the emerging middle class, but masked the underlying labour conditions that produced both the artwork itself and the luxurious lifestyle it seemed to depict. Thank you! That's an entirely new perspective on such a sweet little painting. Curator: Absolutely. Seeing the work through the lens of its materiality offers a richer and ultimately more complex reading of this and other paintings.