The Grandmothers

The Grandmothers

Several figures, including two women, a man, and a child, watch over a figure in bed. The surrounding room is sparsely detailed. Curtains depicted with wavy lines partially cover a window in the back right of the scene. The bed upon which the central figure rests has a distinctive headboard, one post visible and adorned with an orb. The rightmost figure is clothed in black and slender. She holds a clean white cloth before her which covers her hands, and her eyes rest on the face of the figure in bed. The other woman, in the center of the work, wears a light-colored dress with voluminous sleeves, indicated by shading. She appears to hold a small bouquet of flowers in her hands, somewhat obscured by the bed. In the left third of the composition stands a man. He is partially in shadow, his face blending into the shade of the wall. He wears a neat, square jacket, and his eyes look to the person in the bed. In front of him are two smaller figures. The one on the right is a child. The figure on the left is somewhat indecipherable in form, and rather in appearance. It appears bored with drooping eyelids. The bedridden figure’s eyes are closed, and its face appears thin. The figure is enveloped by pillows and blankets. The bedspread is a dark pattern, with some lines which echo those found on the curtains. in the bottom right corner of the print, in block script, is the artist’s name, MAIRS.

3/12; The Grandmothers; Clara Mairs

St. Catherine University

ink

etching

5 3/8 inches x 8 7/8 inches

print

2013.0.1439