From Whistler to Warhol, Famous Artists Paint Their Mothers, Part One of Two.

In honor of Mother's Day this coming Sunday, I thought I'd share with you several portraits of the female forebearers of various respected and well-known painters. The portraits range from the 15th century to the present* - excluding paintings of The Madonna, arguably the most famous of all mothers.

Most artists, at one time or another, have painted a portrait of the woman from whose womb they sprang. Some are flattering, some are not and others are very personal or intimate -- yet all are an homage to the parent whose role we celebrate this Sunday, May 8th.

There are so many, I'm breaking this up into two posts. Today I am featuring paintings of artists' mothers prior to the 20th century and tomorrow I will be featuring Part Two, more recent homages to Mom by such artists as Hopper, Dali, Hockney, and Warhol.

A good place to start would be with the world's most well-known "Mother" artwork, that of by James McNeill Whistler, painted in 1871:

above: James McNeill Whistler, Whistler's Mother 1871, Musée d'Orsay, Paris

The following portraits are presented in chronological order from the earliest to the most recent. While it's true that many of these artists painted multiple sittings of their mothers (e.g. Lautrec, Cassat, and Cezanne), I chose to share those I found to be the most compelling.

Albrecht Durer, portrait of Barbara Durere, the artist's mother, 1490:

Guido Reni, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1612:

Rembrandt, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1630:

Sir Thomas Lawrence, Portrait (sketch) of Lucy Lawrence, the Artist's mother, 1797:

Alfred Rethel, portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1836:

Camille Corot, Madame Corot, the Artist's Mother, Born Marie-Francoise Oberson, 1838:

Pierre Renoir, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1860:

Paul Cezanne, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1866-67:

Mary Cassat, the Artist's Mother reading Le Figaro, 1878:

Edouard Manet, Mother in the garden at Bellevue, 1880:
Georges Seurat, Aquatint of the artist's mother, 1883:

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Countess Adele Zoe de Toulouse Lautrec, The Artist's Mother, 1883:

Vincent Van Gogh, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, October, 1888:

Paul Gauguin, Portrait of Aline Gauguin, 1890:

Pablo Picasso, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, 1896:

Edvard Much, The Dead Mother (the artist's mother died when he was five from tuberculosis), 1899:

*You will note there are very few, if any, portraits artist's mothers in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries because so much art at that time was dominated by religious paintings and portraits commissioned by the wealthy.


PART TWO
Be sure to see Part Two, 20th and 21st century artists like Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, and David Hockney's portraits of their mothers.

If Mom Likes Diamonds, Bling's the Thing

Does Mom like diamonds? Don't be a dork. That's a rhetorical question.
Well, here's a few dazzling items if you feel like dropping some serious coin for Mother's Day:

Asanti's Diamond studded wheels $1 million dollars for the set:


www.asantiwheels.com

Diamond studded eyelashes by She Uemera:


Originally created by Gina Brooke, shu uemura Artistic Director, exclusively for Madonna - These custom mink false eyelashes are adorned with 0.75 carats total weight of hand-faceted diamonds featuring featuring a unique new diamond cut - the "Star Shimmer Cut".
A single pair of the $10,000 shu uemura false eyelashes will be exclusively available at seven Neiman Marcus stores. For inquiries, please contact
customer service.
Or if you want them with 'diamante' diamonds (crystal), go here.

Luvaglio's Million Dollar Diamond Studded Laptop:


It is often quite easy to take your trusty computer for granted. This, despite the incredible convenience and entertainment it affords you. But for those who want everything they touch to be of a certain level of quality, including everyday items, Luvaglio has the answer. According to reports, the London-based company is planning a million dollar laptop computer – yes, thats $1,000,000 for what is essentially an appliance. And yet, for the people who could afford this who made their money on a computer just like it, the asking price could just be worthwhile considering the added features such as an auto-cleaning screen, state-of-the-art Blu-ray optical drive, and lots of solid-state memory. It is also said to have a diamond on the start button, although from the “By Appointment Only” website, it is hard to confirm.
www.luvaglio.com

Gold-plated diamond studded camera:


The Minox DC1011 gold-plated edition is really going to woo you with its shine and sparkles as it comes wrapped in 24K gold and a handful of diamonds. The Minox DC1011 digital camera is a perfect thing for the bling-thing lovers.

The blinged Minox DC1011 (aka the carat) features ten 2-millimeter 0.03 carat diamonds encrusted around its lens. It manages to pack 10.1-megapixel CCD sensor, 3x optical zoom, 2.5-inch TFT display, 32MB onboard memory and SD card slot to hold up to 2GB.

The diamond encrusted Mercedes Benz SL600:




Diamond-encrusted Ambilight FlatTV from Philips:


Philips Electronics unveiled this stunning diamond-encrusted Ambilight FlatTV to celebrate its one millionth Ambilight FlatTV. The 42-inch Ambilight LCD HDTV features 225 carats of diamonds that are applied along the sides and edges of the TV’s frame to accentuate the ambient effect. Seems like Philips took inspiration from the creators of Yalos diamond TV set (pictured below).

Yalos Diamond TV set studded with 160 real diamonds:


The stunning diamond studded LCD HDTV is one of the most luxurious and pricey TVs in the world. Keymat’s Yalos Diamond has a 46” screen and studded diamonds on the edges of screen.

The diamond studded TV has been priced at an exclusive cost of $130,000. Appeared at IFA show, 2006 in Berlin.

Diamond Binky:


An exclusive line of custom Diamond Pacifiers, the newest trend in celebrity baby gifting is available at ItsmyBinky.com. The glittery Diamond Pacifiers feature over 278 pave cut white diamonds totaling 3 carats with a 14K European nickel-free white gold base. An exact replica of a real pacifier, Diamond Pacifiers features a genuine silicone nipple and a real moving handle. Though it has a silicone nipple, this pacifier is merely for looks. Jeweled pacifiers are choking hazards. This Diamond pacifier undoubtedly makes a fabulous, upscale souvenir for $17,000. Mathis Riiber, founder of Itsmybinky.com, had quoted that the pricey aide was originally made for Donald and Melania Trump's son Barron William. The company also offers customized pacifiers of colored diamonds for high-end customers.

Below is the $17,000 diamond binky, supposedly a gift to Brad and Angelina:

www.itsmybinky.com

Goldvish's Diamond encrusted cell phone:



In fact, this phone is so expensive that the manufactures even go so far as to recommend a particular car that, they feel, would compliment the most expensive phone in the world admirably.

If I tell you that the car they name is none other than the Bugatti Veyron, then perhaps you’ll get the picture.

The Piece Unique Vertu, whilst having been named with the aplomb of a road-kill, boasts a casing exquisitely manufactured from 18 carat white gold, 120 carats of diamonds encrusted across almost its entire surface and a little platinum just for good measure.

I have searched for a feature list concerning this phone but I am yet to find one. Certainly the company’s website feels that such details are obviously of little concern - even if the phone costs a staggering $1.2 Million USD (€1 Million).

Then again, I suppose if you have to ask you probably can’t afford it.

www.goldvish.com

The Diamond Cell Phone Strap:

The diamond phone owners might would like to pimp-out their ultra-blingy sets even more with this diamond studded mobile phone strap that costs way more then a majority of the luxury phones in the market. Or if you don’t possess a diamond Vertu or a Goldvish, you can add a million dollar appeal to your handset with this dangling diamond mobile phone charm! This one-of-a-kind diamond-studded strap is designed by Diaddict, a designer Japanese brand that specializes in jewelry. The luxurious phone accessory features a 6.02-carat yellow diamond, as well as 2.1-carats in clear, white diamonds, a .61-ct. blue diamond and a .36-ct. pink diamond and is currently on display at the Takashimaya Co. departments store in Nihombashi, Japan for a listed price of $842,000.

Diamond Studded Cricket Ball:


One simply has to wonder what lengths people will go to gain attention. Just when you thought that you had seen it all, in comes the mother of all bling! Bollywood actress Mahima Chaudhary holds one of the diamond studded cricket ball to be presented to the best Indian Cricketer of the ongoing World Cup Series at West Indies. The other ball will be presented to the Best Interim Player. There are 5,728 diamonds encrusted on each ball, which costs about $68,500. Well all the fuss is fine if the team is a solid rocker, but apparently team India seems to be having starting troubles, considering it lost its match to Bangladesh! Too bad we don’t play cricket out here west!

$150,000 Diamond Encrusted Bentley Shifter Knob:


icedoutemz.com

Blinged out ipod:

$15,000.00
Over 580 diamonds worth 10.32 carats in total and set on 120g of 14K white gold.
www.intergem.com


This diamond-studded bottle of Kattus Hochriegel is worth €10,000 (US$13,200)

www.johann-kattus.at/

The Snow Drive, A diamond studded flash drive:


Blinged USB flash drive. It is called as the Snow Drive because of the casing made up of 18 carat White Gold with three strips of 1.44 carat white diamonds totaling to 96 on the sides and comes with 18 carat white gold chain. It features a Sandisk 4GB drive. Price: 9950 GBP ($18,856).

Not enough memory OR diamonds? Try this:



For the super-rich tycoons who need to carry useful business data all the time, Mii Stor has created a 4GB flash drive made from diamonds and white gold to pack your million dollar data in equally luxurious style. The Snow drive is a Sandisk 4GB drive encased in 18ct white gold studded with 96 white diamonds totalling 1.44ct. And, with the white gold chain, the precious little thing can be worn round your neck too. So, another chance to show off your wealth in an elegant yet geeky manner. The shiny flash drive retails for around $19,000. But, if more storage capacity is what you are looking for then leave the bling thing and get yourself the Buslink Pro 2 flash drive from CDW that is though not made of gold or platinum but it packs 64GB of data in it.
www.stor-data.com

Diamond Studded Flat iron by M1:

For the woman who has it all, this Diamond Encrusted Straightener from Selfridges is a must-have to match your high couture collection. The limited-edition hair tamer is made in 18-carat yellow and white gold and is encrusted with six Dutch Crown Rose Cut diamonds for that luxury trim! The luxury cosmetic equipment sells for approx $15,000. USD exclusively from Selfridges on Oxford Street. And, the device comes encased in an Italian leather pouch.

And finally, perfume infused with real diamond dust (And a rockin' name to boot). Stoned Perfume with Real Diamond dust:

Hailed by designer Solange Azagury Partridge as 'the most fun one can have being stoned without breaking the law', Stoned is a scent designed to create an addictive animal attraction (rahhh!) and is infused with diamond dust . Created as part of a jewellery collection, it's no wonder the bottle looks like a work of art and costs roughly $350.00 USD.
www.solangeazagurypartridge.com


There's more, too, Don't forget to check out:

Real diamond flatware by Christofle here.

Diamonds suspended in stemware and more from Diamonds In Glass here.

The Diamond and Platinum Ego laptops here.