Maternity in Portraiture
Marie Antoinette
Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun, 1783
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Josefa de Castilla
Portugal y van Asbrock de Garcini, 1804
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
Thomas Rowlandson, 1785
The British Museum
Princess Henrietta of Lorraine
Anthony Van Dyck, c.1634
Kenwood House
Henrietta Maria
Unknown artist, c.1635
National Portrait Gallery, London
Henrietta Maria
Sir Anthony Van Dacha, c. 1635
National Portrait Gallery London
Charlotte Princess of Wales
George Dawe, 1817 National Portrait Gallery, London
Saskia Van Uylenburgh
Rembrant, 1635
National Gallery, London
Queen Charlotte
(cropped from) Johan Zoffany, 1770
The Royal Collection
Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire
Thomas Gainsborough, 1783
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Sarah Siddons
Thomas Gainsborough, 1785
National Portrait Gallery
Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire
Thomas Gainsborough, 1785 Chatsworth House
Silence!
Jean-Baptiste Grease, 1759
The Royal Collection
Mrs Noah Smith and her children
Ralph Earl, 1798
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Man Midwife or Female Delicacy after Marriage
1773, British Museum
Queen Charlotte
Cropped from a portrait by Benjamin West, 1776
The Royal Collection
Lady Anne Pope with her children
Marcus Gheeraerts, 1596, Tate Britain
Strawberry Girl
Nils Schillmark, 1782
Finnish National Gallery
Charlotte Princess of Wales
Jeremiah Steele, 1817, Historic Royal Palaces
Madam Bagge and her Husband
Unknown artist, 1772
Queen Charlotte
Francis Cotes, 1767
The Royal Collection
Caroline Brunswick
Gainsborough Dupont, 1795
The Royal Collection
Charlotte Princess of Wales
Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1817
The Royal Collection
Queen Charlotte
Ozias Humphry, 1766
The Royal Collection
All of the early-modern women depicted in this gallery were pregnant or had recently given birth when the artwork was created. While these are pregnancy portraits many do not emphasise the physical characteristics of the maternal body. For more examples of maternal bodies past and present look out for Maternal Mondays on Bluesky.
Amy Wilson 