Mother and Child, 1951

Composed through to the last detail, this lithograph by Otto Dix (1891–1969) is dedicated to one of the most prominent themes in art history: that of mother and child. Yet, in his version, the painter and graphic artist managed to uncover new aspects to this topic. Naked, with her flowing hair only revealing a small section of her face, the female figure, with her voluminous and drooping conical breasts, cradles the chubby infant lying naked, with angled arms and legs, on a white sheet. Dix masterfully highlighted details, such as the woman’s strands of hair and parting, using subtly coordinated ocher tones and delicate strokes. By mirroring the rectangular sheet in the white plane, delineated with dynamic lines, behind the mother, Dix created a compositional unity between the two figures. Rather than on the two protagonists merging into one, the work focuses on their interaction, as if the child found its reflection in the mother’s eyes.

MH, 2023