Page 315 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Studies: human

representing water; the other, clad in possibly ancient Greek
costume, holds an object of unknown shape and function.

14 Mother and infant
Wood
21.75” x 5.75”

28 Mother and infant
Stone
6.5” x 3.25”

156 Mother and infant
Wood
13” x 3.5”

Three variations on a theme offer an interesting contrast here.
Sentimentality, not a dominant characteristic of AR’s sculpture,
is most evident in these mother-child pairings. At the same
time, the figures do not escape from their formal poses into
any convincing liveliness. One of the problems AR probably
had with no. 28—like many of his works in stone—was his use
of an inappropriate chunk of rock. If, as is recalled by more
than one person in the reminiscences, he picked up stones and
small boulders from the roadside for carving, then many of his
efforts were inevitably going to be unrewarding. When he did
use softer, less brittle material (see no. 132), the results were
much better. In the almost primitive seated woman with a
barely-recognizable child cradled in her arms, AR did not cut
very deeply into the medium—aware, no doubt, of its
likelihood to crack or chip unpredictably. Not surprisingly, this
piece (like no. 32) has a strong geometric outline and feeling of
enclosure; the woman, with covered head and body, is almost
continuous with the throne-like chair. The effect is oddly
sepulchral, like the massive seated memorial figures in Egyptian
tombs.
The two standing pieces in wood are somewhat more
animated. No. 14 has the feel of Romanesque art, presenting a
typical “Madonna and child” motif probably copied from a
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