Made in 1935, this work alludes to the birth of the artist’s first son, José Afonso de Almada Negreiros, who was born on December 11th 1934. Confined to the static and rigid limits of the square (ancient symbol for the created universe), in an earthly quality, the figures of the mother and of the son intertwine into one sole form; grandiose and perfect in their circular union of bodies, they rest on a plane background which the horizon divides between the blue sky and the yellow earth.

The unity which Almada persistently searched for – repeatedly expressed through the formula «1+1=1» – is here manifested, through the harmony between the square and the circle, between celestial and terrestrial spheres, in the figure of Maternity.

SAF

May 2010