Past the pink cloud: Good Mom, Bad Mom

Nurturing mom

Good Mom / Bad Mom highlights the theme of motherhood through the ages, with classical paintings alongside more contemporary interpretations. Curator (and mother) Laurie Cluitmans compiled the group exhibition with her colleague Heske ten Cate. ‘We noticed how art history always portrays motherhood in the same way, while more modern work tends to show a broader, more realistic perspective. This is reflected in the exhibition.’ For a long time, artists only painted mothers as caring, nurturing souls. Even mothers who aren’t Mary. As late as the 20th century, artists like Otto van Rees and Theo van Doesburg still opted for the classic image of a caring mother with a child on her lap for their depictions of ‘mother and child’.

It wasn’t until quite recently that artists began to portray the other side of motherhood, creating a more balanced perspective. Motherhood from the angle of the mothers themselves. This is more realistic, and debunks the myth of cloud nine. Take the babies that Marlene Dumas painted after she herself had become a mother. Not cute and cuddly, but 180 centimetres tall in strange colour schemes. They stand for the huge impact that parenthood has on your life, which goes way beyond anything you might have imagined beforehand. This is also evident in Rineke Dijkstra’s vulnerable photos of mothers and infants, just after the birth.

Dispelling clichés

However, the ideal picture of a good mother is still very much alive in modern society. Laurie: ‘The concept put forward by the philosopher Rousseau in the 18th century still dominates today.’ Rousseau thought that women were created to have children and care for them, and should always put their children first. This would be good for society as a whole, he suggested. ‘The question is, however, is it realistic to leave all the care to one person? Isn’t it partly up to society to organise this differently?’

Although almost 300 years have passed, very little has changed and society still expects mothers to shoulder the caring responsibilities. In 2025, very few women are solely mothers, but instead have multiple roles and ambitions. And the right to decide how they do this without being seen as a bad mother who fails to meet the requirements. So the exhibition is also about dispelling the clichéd image of a caring mother and a hard-working father, about other approaches to parenthood, and about providing care in a more collective system.

Good Mom /Bad Mom comprises over 150 exhibits, varying from paintings and drawings to video art. It cuts through the centuries, with work by eminent contemporary names like Tracey Emin, Louise Bourgeois, Rineke Dijkstra and Kinke Kooi, as well as Old Masters such as Jan van Scorel and Abraham Bloemaert. The result is realistic, absurd, sweet and humorous. Alongside the art, you’ll also see anatomical drawings and models and media images, illustrating the gradual progression in the way that pregnancy is, and can be, shown. Take the famous photo of a foetus on the cover of Life (1965) and the naked portrait of a pregnant Demi Moore on the cover of Vanity Fair (1991), images that would previously have been unthinkable.

Conception & birth

A number of artists created new work specially for the exhibition, Laurie explains. ‘There’s a video installation by the South African Buhlebezwe Siwani, who reflects upon the history of slavery, when mothers weren’t automatically allowed to keep their children. Siwani has turned this highly emotive subject into a moving, heart-warming film.’

Emma Talbot also created new work, in which she puts the theme of motherhood, conception and birth into a much broader context. Are we, as children of Mother Earth, taking good care of our own mother? So in conclusion, the exhibition asks the question of who is actually looking after mother, while she tries to keep all the balls in the air?

From 29 March 2025, Centraal Museum centraalmuseum.nl/en