Mother and Child

1929–1930

Mother and Child, 1929–1930. Jacques Lipchitz (French, born in Lithuania, 1891–1973). Bronze; overall: 130.2 x 90.2 x 87.7 cm (51 1/4 x 35 1/2 x 34 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund with a contribution from Bernard J. Reis 1955.166 © The Estate of Jacques Lipchitz A child rides on the back of his bird-like mother in this monumental sculpture by Jacques Lipchitz. The motif of mother and child has been explored countless times in art, and is often charged with strong emotion. While at first glance this sculpture may seem tender, the child digs his fingers aggressively into his mother’s breasts. The artist embraced imagery of mothers and children throughout his career, and related his interest in this theme to his relationship with his own mother. This sculpture is subjective, or open to interpretation; while one viewer may see an image of affection, another may see brutality and oppression. Lipchitz began as a Cubist sculptor but moved away from sculptural geometric forms in the 1920s.