Five paintings that capture the complexity of motherhood – chosen by art historians

By Marius Kwint, Reader in Visual Culture, University of Portsmouth
Alice Sanger, Honorary Associate and Associate Lecturer, The Open University
Jen Harvie, Professor of Contemporary Theatre and Performance, Queen Mary University of London
Pragya Agarwal, Visiting Professor of Social Inequities and Injustice, Loughborough University
Samuel Shaw, Lecturer in History of Art, The Open University

The complex relationship between mother and child is no easy thing to capture on canvas. For Mother’s Day, we asked five experts to share their favourite painting of a mother or maternal figure.

1. Hunting for Lice by Gerard ter Borch (1652)

This small painting, displayed in the Mauritshuis in The Hague, is of a scene that might be familiar to any carer for nursery- or school-aged children today. Gerard ter Borch captures the look of concentrated maternal resolve and patient resignation…

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