Mother!

While some museums are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Apollo’s usual weekly pick of exhibitions will include shows at institutions that are currently open as well as digital projects providing virtual access to art and culture.

The theme of motherhood has a long pedigree in art history. This display at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (21 April–29 August) extends from ancient figurines and painted Madonnas of the early Renaissance, by the likes of Dieric Bouts, to the present day. The exhibition explores how artists of the 20th and 21st centuries – such as Paula Modersohn-Becker, Meret Oppenheim, and Chantal Joffe – have reimagined the traditional concept of motherhood, as well as how the representation of mothers has changed in popular culture. Find out more from Louisiana’s website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here

Constructivist waiting dress from The Grace Jones Show (1979), Jean-Paul Goude in collaboration with Antonio Lopez. Photo: courtesy the artists; © Jean-Paul Goude

Self-portrait, nesting Esme’s hair (2009), Chantal Joffe. Photo: Courtesy Victoria Miro, London / Venice; © Chantal Joffe

Ginny and Elizabeth (1975), Alice Neel. Photo: Malcolm Varon; courtesy The Estate of Alice Neel and David Zwirner © The Estate of Alice Neel

Madonna with Child (after 1454), workshop of Dieric Bouts. Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen