Mother and Child 1935

Emilio Amero made this drawing, Mother and Child, sometime before 1976, probably using graphite or charcoal. What strikes me is the obsessive, almost tender way Amero coaxes form out of the paper. The surface is built up with countless tiny marks, a real labour of love. The hatching and cross-hatching feels almost sculptural, like he's carving these soft, rounded shapes from stone. Look at the way the light seems to glow from within, the way the figure wraps around the child is comforting. That arm, the one that cradles the child, it's like a soft, protective band. It reminds me a little of Käthe Kollwitz, though Amero is maybe a bit more surreal. This drawing isn't about perfect representation. It's about feeling, about process, about the intimate connection between artist, subject, and material. It's not about definitive answers, but about embracing ambiguity.