• Complete a sensory figure analysis on one of the figures in the piece.
• Complete a quick write on the mood of the piece.  What does this painting tell us about the status of African Americans in Texas during the beginning of the 20^th century? How would the Civil Rights Movement change that status?
• As a class, read an excerpt from the Diary of Olaudah Equiano. Juxtapose the text with this painting and ask students to draw conclusions as to how certain details contribute to the main idea of the painting.

• How would you describe the relationship between the woman and the children? Using elements from the work of art, how do you know that this is a mother and her children?
• What effect does the lack of separation between the bodies of the children and the mother add to the artwork?
• Notice the background of heavy crosshatching, a technique in which varying densities of parallel lines intersect one another to create areas of darkness. How does the use of this technique heighten the emotional energy of the work?
• Describe the use of light and shadow in this drawing. How does the dramatic lighting add to the mood of solitude and reflection?
• This drawing lacks details. Why do you think the artist stripped the details from the figures?
• Notice how the artist chose to not portray the faces of the figures. How would this work be different if viewers could see their faces? What do you think their expressions would be like?

 

• While the lack of details helps the viewer to focus on the figures, how does it also add a sense of universality to the drawing?
• The artist stated that he created this drawing during a frustrating time in his life. Do you notice a tone of frustration and hopelessness infused in this work of art?
• The title of this work is The Cradle. How does the title and the embracing figure of the women create a tone of protection? In contrast, how does the darkness that surrounds the figures create an impending sense of doom and despair?
• While the artist did not include many details, he drew the mother’s arms as sturdy and muscular. What can we inference about the nature of the woman due to this additional detail?
• Despite the underlying tone of darkness and the despair, how does the figure of the women depict strength and resilience?

• What might the mother be feeling?  What does the arrangement of the children tell you about what they are feeling, and the relationship to their mother and each other?
• What is unusual about the arrangement of the mother’s arms?
• What does this work of art tell us about the impact of migration on family?
• To what extent can this painting be used to compare/contrast the issues or challenges of human migration?
• To what historical or current event regarding human migration (forced, voluntary, or reluctant) can this work of art be associated? Why?

 

This work of art presents students with the forces that influence people to migrate, and both the positive and negative impact of that migration.  This concept can transcend time and place. Art allows students to connect to history in a way that other sources cannot.  This work of art draws you in, but after further reflection, it can lead to a deeper discussion. It is important to teach students strategies and skills to observe and understand the larger themes in the art.  In the discipline of Social Studies, students need to be able to think conceptually and differentiate between which patterns and ideas are common across societies. Students need to be able to recognize those ideas—whether economic, social, and or/political—that are not bound by time and place, and how a group’s perspective may affect the historical interpretation of those ideas/principles.

The Cradle expresses sympathy for the oppressed and destitute. John Biggers considered himself primarily a draftsman, and here he demonstrates his fine mastery of drawing. Central to the work is the depiction of the mother, who cradles her children within her arms. This conveys the immense responsibility motherhood brings, as the woman shields her three young children from the impending darkness. Although the mother appears to be in despair as she holds her children close to her breast, her thin, elongated arms reveal sturdy, worked muscles suggestive of a dogged strength and resilience.

 

Drawn only in crayon, the background is composed of heavy crosshatching, a technique in which varying densities of parallel lines intersect one another to create areas of darkness. This method allowed Biggers to heighten the emotional energy of the work through the expressive background. His dramatic play of light and shadow, with black streaming from behind the figures, intensifies the mood of solitude and reflection. The curved lines of the children echo the curled body of the mother, who envelops her offspring.

     

Form, rather than detail, is prioritized. By rendering his forms stripped of detail, the artist draws attention to the essence of his figures, reinforcing the pensive solitude and peaceful stillness of this work. The mother and children speak to a universal theme of a mother-child relationship. Composed during a time of difficult transition for the artist, he found an outlet for his frustration in drawing: “I began to work with crayon. My mood must have dictated my sketching the rough contours of a primordial mother image. I thought, ‘A mountain of refuge, ravaged by time, yet remaining both strong and tender—protecting life—poised to absorb hostility without flinching.’” The Cradle exemplifies Biggers’ intrigue with motherhood, especially with regard to African-American women. He not only saw motherhood as an enormous responsibility, but he also considered women to be at the heart of African and African-American culture.

 

Throughout his career, Biggers was strongly influenced by African and African-American culture and traditions. He believed art was not only an individual expression of talent, but also, for him, “a responsibility to reflect the spirit and style of the Negro people.” Biggers promoted this philosophy in both his work and his teaching.

 

Biggers, who moved to Houston in 1949 after receiving a position to establish an art department at Texas Southern University, presented this painting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s annual exhibition of Texas artists, where it won first prize.