Barrio Escalante, San José

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Maternidad 2, by Olger Villegas. Drawing operates here with the direct force of stone carving.

Olger Villegas

Maternidad 2Inquire about availability

Year
2011
Technique
Giclée
Dimensions
80 × 64 cm
Status
Inquire about availability
Palette
dark sanguine, terracotta, old rose, paper white
Brushwork
Tonal modeling in sanguine with continuous blending, soft cross-hatching, and sculptural contour lines.

Curatorial analysis

Drawing operates here with the direct force of stone carving. The maternal figure does not merely accompany the infant, but envelops him like a living architecture grounded in curved lines and rotund masses. The exclusive use of sanguine directly evokes terracotta and primordial clay, allowing tonal gradations to model the bodily volumes with extraordinary tactile density. The broad arms, the generous bust, and the cloth bound around her head grant the woman an earthly gravity, where every surface suggests weight, firmness, and shelter.

At the top, the raised oval bowl introduces a diagonal that breaks frontality and energizes the composition, motivating the movement of the other hand holding the cloth or sponge. This domestic gesture transforms into a silent ceremony. Both figures avert their gaze from the viewer, looking downward in shared, serene contemplation. The infant, seated centrally with crossed legs, presents a round, taut belly that concentrates the light; his small hand resting on his chest mirrors, on a miniature scale, the self-contained quietude of the mother.

A deliberate contrast in graphic treatment structures the visual reading. While the child's body and the woman's upper features are articulated through patient sfumato and continuous shading, the maternal hips are merely suggested by open perimeter contours that dissolve into the paper's whiteness. This graphic economy lightens the monumental quality of the whole, preventing the mass from becoming oppressive. The negative white space ceases to be an inert background, functioning instead as air and containment, turning this filial moment into an enduring meditation on protection and substance.

Maternidad 2

More works by Olger Villegas

7 works

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