Blog Post 5

Hello there fellow bloggers!

This week I will be discussing the Oil on Canvas above, “Mother and Child by a Fountain”, painted by Pablo Picasso in 1901. I was on a seemingly endless search for just the right piece until I came across this work. It spoke to me right through the computer monitor. I have gone back and forth regarding the style, but I would consider “Mother and Child…” to be a slightly abstracted painting, while also possessing an idealized quality. I understand that the work is not representational, but I believe this is Picasso’s vision for the “ideal” mother. The baby has no face, which tells me that he/she is not a very important element of the piece, but rather a prop for the focal point.

Picasso, in my opinion, has a theme of maternity throughout the painting. The work is almost entirely monochromatic, but the color blue that he chooses, I believe, is very significant. The fact that the mother is standing next to a fountain, with flowing blue water, tells me that the artist sees these elements as symbols for life. And we all know that without water, there can be no life. I love the way Picasso uses extra large brush strokes for the piece, which help create organic shapes. One last thing I want to speak about is the loving attentiveness of the mother. She has both hands, firmly securing the baby, and is clearly kissing the child. I think that the artist is letting us know that this is a wonderful and caring mother. She takes maternity very seriously. The work makes me think about my own mother, and I especially wonder if “Mother and Child..” was created in Picasso’s mother’s image.