Copt Mother and Child
1875
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1875
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
A woman in a dark headscarf cradles a sleeping baby against her chest. The folds of her robe and the child’s tiny fingers are painted in soft, wet strokes. Goodall lived in Egypt for years, sketching people in their homes. This mother and child are Coptic Christians—Egypt’s oldest Christian community—yet British viewers saw them as exotic strangers. The watercolor feels quiet, almost like a private moment, but it was made for public eyes hungry for "foreign" scenes. To see how other artists painted daily life in distant places, look up the Victoria and Albert Museum.
