Our Mother

“Our Mother” by Alajos Str�bl was awarded the Grand Prix at the Paris World Exhibition of 1900. He worked on it for three years and completed it in the year of the Millennium, 1896. Although it is doubtlessly one of the most intimate work of Hungarian sculpture, it had only moderate success in Hungary, despite the fact that the Museum of Fine Arts bought it year it was completed. The artist chose the subject himself, inspired by an inner drive. The chosen subject clearly determined the style of representation, the sensitive modelling and the emotional content. The expressiveness and its human warmth make it one of the outstanding pieces of Hungarian sculpture from the turn of the century.

“Our Mother” shows an old woman sitting in a high-backed armchair, resting her hands on an open book but glancing up from her reading. In the beautiful features of his mother, the artist has managed to express the understanding and wisdom acquired over a long lifetime. Her distant look and the faint smile are reflections of her soul.