Thursday, July 16, 2009

Breastfeeding As Art

Isn't it lovely to see a nursing mother depicted in a piece of art? I never understood the significance of the mother and child image until I had my own child. Now I am a nursing mother myself, I see the beauty and grace that has inspired so many artists. I was delighted to see a woman breastfeeding openly (albeit carved from marble) in the entrance hall of Heaton Hall in Manchester last weekend. Excuse the poor quality of the photographs: I only had my fairly crap mobile phone on me.




Mother and Child by Edward H. Baily

And you know what, I bet nobody has yet been offended by this open display of public breastfeeding.

To anyone in the Manchester area, Heaton Hall is in Heaton Park and it is open free over the summer. It is a nice child friendly weekend destination.

6 comments:

Becks said...

That is a beautiful sculpture. I may have to persuade dearest husband to take us for a real life viewing.
xx

Amanda said...

Gorgeous! Once you start looking, it's amazing how much ancient/classic art depicts the breastfeeding couple.

Liz said...

Looks like a similar position to how my son likes to feed - ie. clinging on with his teeth while I try to go back to sleep! Very realistic.

Unknown said...

Those sculptures are fantastic. I've never seen anything like them before. So true to life and natural x

Jessica said...

Can you imagine how long it took for the artist to carve? The care in the shape and form and the positions of mother and child. It's inspiring, really!

allgrownup said...

Isn't it always art? Gorgeous. I've tagged you on my blog, you don't have to play, thought a few of my readers might take a look here though...