The Expecting Mother (fig. 1 and 2) were glass prints painted in 1985 by an unknown artist. The woman featured in this picture is seated cross-legged, head bowed down and appears to be in serene meditation concerning her pregnancy state. The woman was portrayed through simple lines but the contours created by the chiaroscuro of opposing pigments such as yellow, green, and orange made it possible to portray the actual figure of the woman despite the unrealistic image. The background was muted and this emphasized more the concentration of the viewer’s eye directly on the woman’s image. For this theme, the artist made two different glass painting: one was a plain glass painting with smeared paints on the background while the other has a full black background highlighting the intensity of the orange-yellow palette combination. Implied lines are created by the pigments in both paintings. The woman’s image from top to her wide cross-legged pose implies the shape of a triangle representing the unity of her mind, body, and the infant inside her body.
The purpose of The Expecting Mother portrays a woman lost in deep thought while gently cradling her womb to shield it from harm. This image was quite similar to the theme of Raphael Santi’s paintings but in this case, the woman is yet to expect for the arrival of the child to complete the picture. But the theme of pregnancy as exemplified in this painting was new that instead of making pregnancy as an isolate thing, the artist showcases the act by placing it on the center part of the panel with an implicit meaning that a woman is the center of the universe and the birth of new humans occurs in the female group. The black background (fig. 2) represents the deep meditation happening inside the woman’s mind; so deep her meditation that she envisioned herself having her confinement in a womb just like her child, with nothing but blackness surrounds her physique. The woman’s happy face symbolizes her desire to bring her child to the world.
WORKS CITED
The Expecting Mother. ca. 1985. Glass Print. California State Library Fresno.
The Expecting Mother on a black background. ca. 1985. Glass Print. California State Library Fresno.
