The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Mother and Child

Mother and Child

1929–1930
(French, born in Lithuania, 1891–1973)
France, 20th century
bronze
Overall: 130.2 x 90.2 x 87.7 cm (51 1/4 x 35 1/2 x 34 1/2 in.)
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund with a contribution from Bernard J. Reis 1955.166
© The Estate of Jacques Lipchitz
Location: 001C ArtLens Exhibition

Did You Know?

Lipchitz began as a Cubist sculptor but moved away from sculptural geometric forms in the 1920s.

Description

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.
  • purchased from the artist.
  • Work of Jacques Lipchitz, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH 1955 cat. no. 56 repr. #336
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 336 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 198 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 198 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 246 archive.org
  • Artlens Exhibition 2019. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer).
    Jacques Lipchitz: A Retrospective. Art Gallery of Ontario, Ontario M5T 1G4, Canada (organizer) (December 15, 1989-March 11, 1990).
    The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 26-March 13, 1955).
  • {{cite web|title=Mother and Child|url=false|author=Jacques Lipchitz|year=1929–1930|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1955.166