Mothering Myths: An ABC of Art, Birth and Care

A comprehensive, intersectional and transhistorical meditation on depictions of motherhood in art, from the Middle Ages to today

Rooted in the visual arts, this book gathers a multitude of voices on the theme of motherhood. Though central to the core of all life, the topic of motherhood has long been relegated to the private domain. Within the art world, depictions of motherhood have also been fraught. From the Middle Ages to the 20th century, Mary was depicted as the “primal mother.” Mothers were idealized in Western art, often as women who sacrifice themselves for the good of their children. Moreover, these idealized depictions were usually made by men. In modern and contemporary art, motherhood has been considered trivial and insignificant, not a subject for great art. Artist Lise Halle Baggesen, in her extensive art project Mothernism, describes a “mother-shaped hole”: a black hole in the history of art when it comes to the depiction of maternal care. To this day, that cliché is still largely transmitted to female artists in art school. Young women artists often receive the message that they should not make “womb art” and that motherhood is not an interesting theme for good art. As an artist with a womb, you are often told to choose between artistry and motherhood because both require a full commitment which would make them incompatible.

by Laurie Cluitmans (Editor), Heske ten Cate (Editor), Alexis Pauline Gumbs (Foreword), Rosemarie Buikema (Contributor), Trudy Dehue (Contributor), bell hooks (Contributor), Lisa Smit (Contributor), Taka Taka (Contributor), Lily van der Stokker (Contributor), Babs Gons (Contributor), Camille Henrot (Contributor) 

Paperback, 304 Pages, Published 2025