The Struggles of Motherhood: Benedict Cabrera’s Mother and Child
Benedicto Cabrera (BenCab) is one of the Philippines’ most premiere artists, having been recently made National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts in 2006. He is one of my most favorite local painters and I am personally happy that I can write about him here in Medium. This article also serves as part of my final assignment for my Art Criticism course in College.
Note: This article is a descriptive essay written underneath in the ancient tradition of Ekphrasis which involves writing descriptions of images, especially artworks. As such, I won’t be including any photos of the artwork as it would undermine the whole point of my essay.
In this article, I will be providing a visual description of BenCab’s oil painting titled Mother and Child (Artnet.com, 1995). The painting is physically 76 x 61 cm and depicts a simple, illustrated image of a mother and a child hanging closely to her chest. The woman’s physical appearance is thick, round, and baggy with much of her clothing resembling her plump figure. The baby she carries is covered almost entirely by both the white cloth and the woman’s larger body, as her right arm sticks out to secure the baby’s position in her chest.
When taking a closer look at the woman’s clothing, the viewer can observe further the inflated-like form of her clothing and the rough, crisscrossing brushstrokes of dark blue and black outlines that form the folds and stretches of her shirt. The majority of the most noticeable colors are found in various articles of the woman’s clothing such as her bright red veil, her dirty green scarf, and the brown hat that she wears on top of her head. The color brown can be also found in the brush strokes resembling dirt-stains in the woman’s green scarf and the obscured skirt located on the woman’s waist. The infant remains very close to her, a white cloth draped over its entire body, the only indicator of its presence being its forehead and eyebrows sticking out of its covering.
The line art composing the anatomy of these two characters is circular and egg-like and encompasses a large portion of the canvas’ space, emphasizing the protective, yet wholesome relationship shared between the mother and child. The painting does not tell us much of a story apart from what we already see in the painting.
From the dirty appearance of her green scarf, the brown hat, and the red veil covering her head, it doesn’t take much to imagine that the woman may either be the wife of a farmer or is of similar social standing to one. Judging from the dirt on her scarf, she appears to be either working or traveling towards somewhere, her child placed close to her chest as she ventures off to an unknown destination. Perhaps she is looking for her husband, who is out working in the fields, tending to cattle or harvesting crops.
It is from this image alone that we, as viewers, could learn and understand the hardships and struggles of motherhood and the raising of children; a perspective in which most men are unable to experience or understand fully. Indeed, the struggles of motherhood are vast and very tiresome but ultimately, it results in an upright and excellent child that any parent would be so proud of.