The painting “Mother and Child” by Pablo Picasso is a very unique and interesting piece of art. At first glance, I found it to be extremely simple and somewhat boring. It looked just like any old portrait. The colors were dull, and the setting was not anything exciting. However, as I began to view the painting more carefully, I began to notice different details and elements that make it unique.

As I carefully examined the mother and child in this painting, I found it rather obvious that their body parts are not proportional. Both the mothers’ and babies’ arms are extremely larger than any other parts of their bodies. Right away this detail seemed to have a large impact on my overall feeling towards the painting. I went from seeing this as a boring portrait; to thinking it may have more depth than I originally thought.

The way Picasso painted the mother makes it seem as if she does not love the baby she is holding. She seems very distant and has a slight look of disgust on her face. The baby looks to be squirming around, while the mother barely holds on. All of these details which were at first very subtle, but now seem to be obvious, make this painting different from most other paintings of a mother and her child.

Originally, I did not care for this painting because I found it to be boring and uneventful. Now, although I still do not care for the painting, I have completely different reasons. The painting makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable, watching a mother hold onto her baby without showing the “familiar” emotions a mother (in my opinion) should normally show. Overall, this painting stirs up a lot of interest as I look over it, however, it still leaves me feeling uncomfortable and a little disturbed.

Picasso, Pablo. Mother and Child. 1921. The Art Institue of Chicago. Keyword: Mother and Child.