第一章主要統整分類藝術作品中的母親形象，對比十八世紀前後期母親形象的差異，以及不同畫家的風格差異。接著從文字內容建立母親形象的文化脈絡，了解觀者對於母子肖像畫展現感性情感的普遍聯想。第二章主要論述皇家藝術學院夏季展覽對於塑造母親公共形象的影響力，以雷諾茲（ Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1723-1792）的母子肖像畫為探討對象，並藉由版畫記錄下的展覽環境，探討母親形象於觀眾、於個人的不同連結。第三 章以版畫為主要研究材料，包括原創版畫與相關主題的諷刺版畫，探討更多不同的貴族母親形象。;As British portrait style underwent a clear transition in the mid decades of the eighteenth century, so did the imagery of mothers and children. The number of mother-child portraits also increased significantly, and the degree of physical and eye contact between the sitters defines their relationship in terms of emotional intimacy. The family evolved from a formal, patriarchal structure toward an intimate, nuclear model, highlighting the special redefinition of motherhood.
This thesis analyses mother-child portraits and prints and explores the significance that such images have for our understanding of eighteenth-century motherhood, within the context of contemporary conduct books, medical literature, novels, biographies, correspondence, and exhibition spaces. Chapter one focuses on maternal images in mother-child portraits, examining earlier and later works with different styles and discussing the pictorial and literary sentimentalisation of motherhood. Chapter two explores the impact of the Royal Academy exhibitions on shaping the public image of mothers, focusing on Joshua Reynolds’s mother-child portraits. Prints representing exhibition spaces will be examined so as to explore the different kinds of pictorial dialogue between individual paintings and the other works that surrounded them on the walls. Chapter three looks at prints, including original prints and satirical prints, and explores more different images of aristocratic mothers.
