Jenny Saville made this work in response to a famous drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, which depicts a serene and relaxed Mary and baby Jesus, as well as a tender St. Anne and baby John the Baptist. While Saville’s drawing also depicts a mother and children, this self-portrait shows desperation, irritation, and a struggle for control in contrast to the perfect peace of da Vinci’s drawing. Here, Saville struggles to hold her children who seem to be trying to wrangle out of her grip, and the repetition of line and form imply movement and outward energy.

As I consider Jesus meeting his mother Mary during this surely chaotic moment, I imagine Mary’s relation to her child more like Saville depicts hers with her children here. While the portraits of Mary and Jesus that we are likely most familiar with are posed and dignified, Saville depicts motherhood in a way that is raw and honest. In imagining Mary through the lens of Saville’s portrait, I wonder how we might better empathize with Mary as she similarly found herself losing her grip on her son, struggling to hold on.