This composition shows the evolution of an enduring and ancient artistic motif which we may call the “Mother and Child”. The first mother is from Neolithic Africa and is inspired by various African sculptures known as “maternity figures”. The second is the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis with her son Horus, also based on sculptural representations. The third is the Biblical Miriam of Nazareth with baby Yeshua, and the fourth is based on medieval European depictions of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.
I got the idea for this artwork after visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which had an exhibit comparing various ancient Egyptian artifacts with those from elsewhere in Africa. One of the comparisons they displayed was between Egyptian representations of Isis suckling baby Horus and one of those African maternity figures I mentioned above. I like to think that the Egyptian images in turn inspired Christian depictions of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.
I love how creative this is, great work