However, the Classical and Renaissance periods weren’t the first to honor mothers. The earliest discoveries are small hand carved sculptures from the Paleolithic period, including the Venus of Hohle Fels in Germany, dated from 42,000-40,000 years ago, made of mammoth ivory. Some of these small statuettes are thought to represent goddesses, such as Isis nursing Horus from ancient Egypt, created from faience in 332-30 BCE. These stylized figurines with their oversized breasts, buttocks, thighs, and stomachs, are believed to symbolize life, fertility, and rebirth. So powerful was this representation, that the art winged its 14
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way through the Ptolemaic period and all the way to Rome, where the cult of the goddess Venus was born, lending her name to the full figured carvings. Today, these Queens of the Stone Age feature in Youtube videos, social media memes, and even as humor for online dating sites, endowing them as the longest running image of mothers. During the early 20th century, female artists such as Mary Cassat and Leonora Carrington began to express the concept of motherhood in art. American artist Cassatt (1844-1926), in particular, was one of the first to bring the viewer into the private lives of women and the bonds shared with their children.
Still, maternal art continued to be dominated by male views, which prompted criticism of a one-sided perspective that failed to capture the many dimensions of motherhood. This impelled later 20th century artists, notably Elizabeth Catlett, Louise Bourgeois, and Alice Neel, to lend more value to women’s roles and free them from stifling stereotypes. They served as role models themselves for contemporary artists who challenge our embedded ideas of motherhood. Nowadays, Mother’s Day celebrates mothers all over the world, and here on Coronado, our local artists have explored multifaceted aspects of family in art.