CONTEXTUALIZENeel was born close to Philly in 1900 and trained at the Philadelphia College of Design for girls. She became a painter with a large social conscience and equally strong left-of-center beliefs. Within the Nineteen Thirties she lived in the community of Greenwich Village, New York. She was listed as a member of the Works Progress Administration in which she painted urban scenes. Her Nineteen Thirties portraits embraced left writers, artists and trade unionists.She painted and experimented in several different genres, including landscape, still life, and portraits, which she is the most well-known for. She developed unique approaches on her own towards society ideas beyond her time. “She had a sensitivity for those who suffered from and those who fought against social discrimination.”commented by the estate of Alice Neel. She had a very social conscience in her paintings. She portrayed life’s tough issues such as racism, depression in motherhood, unfair treatment,etc .Her being also a woman and a mother suffered much sorrow and depression. Being a mother caused Alice tons of pain due to the loss of her child. It benefited her art cause, she was able to show how much deeper the issues mothers face are. These ideas related to social issues, gender, and motherhood are present throughout her work, including in the startling painting “Degenerate Madonna,” from 1930.DESCRIBEThe painting shows a mother and her two children.THe mother appears sickly and very upset. Her breast seemed to be all dried up and deformed. The child in her lap resembles a child wearing a mask back during the flu pandemic in the early 1900’s. The child’s arms appear malnourished. The older child shows to be similar to what a ghost was supposed to look like. Wearing funeral clothes and an abnormal head shape unlike the rest of the family. The mother is looking down and doesn’t have a strong grip on the child. As if the child could fall and it wouldn’t bother her. The emotionless look on the baby reminds me of a doll lifeless yet, you could imagine any face.The background is embedded with various light and dark hues of blue, gray, red, white, black, and brown. You notice what seems to be a family portrait of some sort. You know in scary movies or when it's starting to get sad. You feel dark and gloomy or suddenly afraid. That’s what emotion you get when you view Madonna. Motherhood isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. A lot of moms suffer from postpartum depression. It can make a mother neglect or resent the child later. During the time Alice Neel made this the condition and well being of the mothers were looked over. Mothers tend to struggle the most cause, they have to not only tend for themselves but, the kids and their husband. Most women today work and juggle being the whole world for those kids. You can get a sense of this. The emotion of the painting can give you one of many meanings.

INTERPRETATIONTo conclude, I want those listening to consider the feelings and the health of the mothers around you. As shown in the painting the emotions of the mother clearly affected the children and their well-being.Being a mother is hard and even harder once you realize you have to care for this small being. For example, The mother is pictured unhealthy and stressed to the point she can’t care for herself and the child.The madonna has so many warning signs for one to look for when you take a deeper look. Alice Neel truly produced a piece beyond her time. She presented how motherhood was way harder and emotionally scarring. Especially during a time women weren’t viewed as anything but the person behind the man. How women lacked support emotionally. It gave women the support they weren’t going to get from anyone who isn’t a woman.