Mother and child, an ink drawing, is a rare example of the continuity in creative production of Jan Mudroch from the mid-60s. The painting shows the emotional relationship full of tenderness, motherly love and at the same time the child reliance which is reflected by nestling and longing touch of mother´s open hand, a gentle bond without ostentation. The composition of the drawing is integrated into the cabinet, familiar surrounding in which the central motif is the mother and her child, in the background there are some signs of an interior. In the right part of the drawing, there is a vase with flowers and fruit situated on the table. Despite the seemingly calm atmosphere we can find the dynamics and rhythm in the composition. When studying it in more detail, the figure of the mother is a sculptural relief while the head already has the characteristic smooth traits
The national artist Ján Mudroch was born on March 28, 1909 in Sotiná, Záhorie, Slovakia. From 1926 he studied at the private school of G. Mallý in Bratislava., in 1930-31 at the School of Applied Arts in Prague at Prof. A Hofbauer´s studio and in 1931-37 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague at Prof. Obrovský and W. Nowak´s studios. The painter Ján Mudroch debuted in the exhibition of the group of Slovak artists in Nitra which was organized during the celebration of Pribinas´s anniversary where he presented many still-lives characterized by the cubist tendency. In 1933-34 there was the classic analytical cubist approach in the time of his transformation to the syntetic period. This means in Mudroch´s paintings the shift from the volume into the surface. This initial creative passion is partially associated with Cézanne´s influence on his paintings and with the approach towards the Cézanne´s searching for the geometrical scheme of image objects.
In 1938-39 Ján Mudroch taught at the School of Applied Arts in Bratislava, in 1939-41 at the drawing and painting department of the Technical University in Bratislava, in 1942 he was taken away the title docent and was suspended from The group of Slovak artists for his non-conformist political opinions. He began to teach again at the Technical University in 1945-47, in 1948-49 he worked at the Comenius University at the Pedagogical Faculty in Bratislava. In the war years he became the leading personality of the Bratislava avant-garde. After 1945 we was the co-founder of the group called the 29th August, then the chairman of the preparatory commitee of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava and became its first chancellor in 1948-49. In 1949-68 he led the studio of figural painting. In 1950-69 he was the member of the Union of Slovak Artists.
During his life he earned many awards, e.g. in 1946 Kupecký award, 1960 the National competition award, in 1963 was titled the merited artist and in 1968 titled national artist in memoriam. He represented Slovak art not only in Slovakia, but also abroad. Ján Mudroch belonged to the prominent personalities of the Slovak modern painting. In his work the poetic features are overlapping the symbiosis with the surrealistic principles and not only in his still-lives, but also in the figural compositions.
The national artist Ján Mudroch died on Febuary 2, 1968 in Bratislava.
— Marta Hučková
Inventory No.: K 571
Artist: Ján Mudroch
Title: Mother and Child
Year of origin: 1935
Technical details: ink drawing
Material: etiolated white paper
Signature: in the right bottom corner: Mudroch 1935