The Madonna and Child or The Virgin and Child is often the
name of a work of art which shows the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus. The word
Madonna means "My Lady" in Italian. Artworks of the Christ Child and
his mother Mary are part of the Roman Catholic tradition in many parts of the
world including Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, South America and the
Philippines. Paintings known as icons are also an important tradition of the
Orthodox Church and often show the Mary and the Christ Child. They are found
particularly in Eastern Europe, Russia, Egypt, the Middle East and India.
Wikipedia
When I took the three photographs, the first in 1968, the
second in 1989 and the last one in 2018 the idea that I was replicating the
concept of a Madonna and Child was far away from my thought and association.
The first is of my wife Rosemary with our first-born
Alexandra. The series of pictures that I took of them together mark the first
time I photographed anybody in the nude. And of course babies being babies the
obvious event happened.
The second photograph of Colleen Hughes and her son Mitchell
I took for a series of photographs of women in tubs which in 1989 marked my
launch as an art photographer in a Vancouver gallery opening that I shared
with Robert Blake.
The third photograph of Itzel and her son Elías I took with
the sole purpose of attempting to represent in a photograph something that
might I have been done in a similar manner by Helmut Newton.
Who knows if I will have the opportunity to continue in this
series?