“Mother of Sisera” by Albert Moore (1829-96)

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Mother of Sisera

Albert Joseph Moore, ARWS (1841-1893)

1866

Oil on canvas

25 x 36 cm.

Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle

Bequeathed by Emily and Gordon Bottomley

Jamaican-born Fanny Eaton modelled for this poignant painting, in which Moore captures the mother's anxiety when her son fails to return home. [Commentary continues below.]

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Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee; the photograph was taken at the exhibition linked below, by kind permission of the National Portrait Gallery, London.

In the Old Testament story, the Israelites' powerful oppressor Sisera has been killed by Jael, who first treated him as a guest and made him comfortable, then, when he fell asleep, drove a tent-peg through his skull (Judges 4, 21). Moore is not concerned with whether this was an act of treachery or courage. He only focuses on Sisera's mother's feelings when his absence is prolonged. In Deborah's song of praise for deliverance from Sisera, she imagines the mother doing just this, peering out of the lattice (Judges 5, 28-30), and it underlines the Israelites' sense of deliverance. But, again, that does not seem to be how Moore takes it here. The mother's suffering is his concern.

Fanny Eaton, with her dark, exotic looks, was the ideal model here, as she was for other members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood when depicting Biblical scenes. A good example is Simeon Solomon's moving The Mother of Moses.

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Last modified 28 October 2019