Motherhood.
 Austrian, Ben, 1870-1921

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Title:Motherhood
Notes:Ben Austrian was a Jewish artist from Pennsylvania who is famous for his portrayal of country life and animals. His specialty was in painting chickens and hens, training them to pose for him. In this piece, a hen is sitting in her coop surrounded by her chicks. She stares warily at the viewer, giving us a warning not to get too close to her babies. Mother hens are fiercely protective of their children, standing their ground to fight without self-regard against any foe. In the gospel reading cited, Jesus has been warned by Pharisees to flee from Herod. Jesus’ response to this threat of violence from imperial force and religious authorities is to discuss how he wished to be a mother hen for his people. Instead of countering a violent threat with an equally violent metaphor, Jesus gives us a beautiful image of a protective and loving mother hen.
Date:1897
Artist:Austrian, Ben, 1870-1921
Building:Reading Public Museum
Object/Function:Painting
City/Town:West Reading
State:PA
Country:United States

Scripture:Luke 13:31-35
Lectionary links:CLent02
General Subject:Hen
Birds
Motherhood
Caring

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Copyright Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ben_Austrian_-_Motherhood_-_1962.230.1_-_Reading_Public_Museum.jpg
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Attribution:Austrian, Ben, 1870-1921. Motherhood, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58873 [retrieved March 28, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ben_Austrian_-_Motherhood_-_1962.230.1_-_Reading_Public_Museum.jpg.
Record Number:58873 Last Updated: 2022-05-23 05:22:30 Record Created: 2021-09-10 12:02:21
Institution:Vanderbilt University Collection: Art in the Christian Tradition