Portraits of "Mom" By The World's Most Famous Artists. Thirty-Three Paintings.

In honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to share one of my favorite original posts. "Famous Artists Paint Their Mothers" are thirty-three 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 today, Sunday, May 13th.

There are so many, I'd originally broken this up into two posts, but today I am featuring all of them in one post - paintings of artists' mothers prior to the 20th century by the likes of Whistler, Van Gogh, Cezanne and Picasso as well as more recent homages to Mom by such artists as Rockwell, Wood, 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:

Franz Marc, portrait of his mother, 1902:

Georgio di Chirico, portrait of the artist's mother, 1911:

Egon Shiele, Mother Sleeping, 1911:

Juan Gris, portrait of the artist's mother, 1912:

Edward Hopper, Elizabeth Griffiths Smith Hopper, the artist's mother, 1916:

Salvador Dali, portrait of the artist's mother, 1920:

Norman Rockwell's Mother Tucking Children Into Bed (for which his mother Irene was the model), 1921:

Grant Wood, Woman With Plants (his mother), 1929:

Arshile Gorky, portrait of the artist's mother, 1936:

William H. Johnson, Mom Alice, 1944:

Alice Neel, My Mother, 1952:

Lucian Freud, The Painter's Mother, 1973:

Andy Warhol, silkscreen of his mother, Julia Warhola, 1974 :

David Hockney, Mum, 1985:

Daphne Todd, Last Portrait Of Mother, 2009:

David Kassan, portrait of the artist's mother, 2010:


*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.

Happy Mother's Day!

The Artist As Dictator. Phillip Toledano Explores Narcissism and Self-Delusion in Kim Jong Phil.

Most popular blogs and sites have been sharing images from Phillip Toledano's A New Kind of Beauty series (photographic portraits of extreme plastic surgery), because people love that creepy stuff. But Toledano is an artist of many talents that express his unique perspective on the world.

In his project, Kim Jong Phil, Toledano has replaced dictators Kim Il Sung, Laurent Kabilla and Saddam Hussein in pre-existing art with images of himself. The project reflects his personal philosophy revealed in his own words below.

I think a great deal about what it means to be an artist.

I reflect on the elaborate psychological mechanisms required to pursue something so elusive, so ambiguous. I often wonder: ‘Am I talking to myself?’

I don’t make work for other people, but as an artist, I need to be in dialogue with the world that exists beyond my overpopulated cranium. I’ve concluded that to be effective-to be functional-I must guzzle an eye-popping cocktail of delusion and narcissism.

It occurred to me that being an artist is a great deal like being a dictator.

Just like a dictator, I must live in a closed loop of self-delusion. A place where my words and ideas always ring true. A gilded daydream of grandiosity. There can be no room for doubt. I must be convinced that I have something vital to say. I must believe that the world is waiting in keen anticipation to hear my message.

For my palette, I’ve copied pre-existing dictatorial art. Paintings from North Korea, statues of assorted dictators (Kim Il Sung, Laurent Kabilla, and Saddam Hussein). I had these works re-created in China, and each instance, I’ve replaced the great leaders with myself. -- Phillip Toledano, 2011

I insist, ladies first. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

detail:

I'll be back for the dog. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

You have so much to learn, and I have so much to give. Oil on canvas, 50x60 inches:

International world global domination. Oil on canvas, 40x50 inches:

detail:

It's true. I'm utterly fascinating. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

detail:

His royal equestrian majesty. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

A sporting chance. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

Love oils the cogs of revolution. Oil on canvas, 30x40 inches:

I love the smell of adulation in the morning. Oil on canvas, 20x30 inches:

Mr Toledano as Saddam Hussein. Bronze, 20 inches:

Mr Toledano as Kim il Sung. Bronze, 20 inches:

Mr Toledano as Laurent Kabila. Bronze, 20 inches:


About the artist:

above: A portrait of Phil taken by his father

Phillip Toledano was born in London to a French Moroccan mother, and an American father. He believes that photographs should be like unfinished sentences. There should always be space for questions.

Phillip’s work is socio-political, and varies in medium, from photography, to installation.

His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times magazine, The New Yorker, Esquire, GQ, Wallpaper, The London Times, The Independent Magazine, Le Monde, and Interview magazine, amongst others.

See more of his work here

Be sure not to miss his moving and personal photo essay Days With My Father.

Metal Jewelry For The Tips Of Your Fingers. Nail Rings by GWAAN.

GWAAN, handmade jewelry out of Italy, has a whole new way to bejewel your hands with their Nail Rings, jewelry for your fingertips. Two styles, both in gunmetal grey, one rounded and one pointed with an inset black crystal.

Rounded Nail Rings in Gunmetal:



Triangle Nail Rings in Gunmetal With Black Crystal:




Buy them here

Gwaan also has an etsy store with other items here