From churches and palaces to private homes, depictions of mothers—especially the Madonna—are ubiquitous in Renaissance art.
The idealised images of the Madonna and Child offered powerful visions of maternal love and divine protection, yet some Renaissance paintings also contain an awareness of suffering and loss, with the Madonna appearing to foresee her son’s ultimate fate. These works were often made for domestic settings and may have been viewed particularly by women, making their idealised representations of motherhood potentially complex or even painful for those unable to have children, and those left behind when childbirth goes horribly wrong.
Drawing on paintings from the early sixteenth to the early seventeenth century, this talk offers a wide-ranging exploration of motherhood, vulnerability and the changing visual language of childbirth in Renaissance art.
Alongside depictions of the Madonna, we will also examine a fascinating group of late-sixteenth-century portraits depicting pregnant women, exploring what these rare images reveal about attitudes towards pregnancy, hope and anxiety. Alongside questions of motherhood and mortality, the talk will consider the gendered expectations placed upon women, particularly the persistent assumption that a wife was responsible if she failed to produce a son.
This talk will serve as an introduction to the topic, and no prior knowledge is necessary to join us. Attend live at the Museum or stream online from your sofa.
Please note that this talk will include discussion of difficulties and death in childbirth.
This talk will last an hour. Tickets are available to watch either ONLINE or IN-PERSON at the Foundling Museum; in-person tickets include Museum entry. The online recording will be available to watch for 1 month.
Dr Susan Bracken is an art historian who lectures regularly for Art Historical London, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and Ithaca College London, and is co-convenor of the ‘Collecting and Display’ research seminar at the Institute of Historical Research. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, London, and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars, she has published widely on Renaissance art and the history of collecting. Susan holds a PhD from the University of Sussex, an MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art, and a BA (Hons) in History of Art from Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London.
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