What is missing from the American Gothic painting? The story of one masterpiece: Wood's American Gothic. The plot of the picture and the history of creation
At least once, you have seen this picture. And the first thing you thought was: “Hmm... what’s going on here?”
The painting “American Gothic” makes a mixed impression on the viewer. Let's try to understand why this happens.
The painting was created in 1930 by artist Grant Wood. One day he saw a small White House in the Carpenter Gothic style. The artist liked the house, and he decided to paint a picture telling the story of the inhabitants of the house who could live in it. He chose his sister Nan and dentist Byron McKeeby as models. Wood painted the people and the house separately, the scene we see in the painting never happened.
A photograph showing the artist's sister Nan and Byron McKeeby, who became the heroes of American Gothic.
Once finished, Wood decided to submit his painting to a competition at the Art Institute of Chicago. The judges perceived the film as a “humorous valentine”, demonstrating the relationship of two spouses with life’s “baggage.” But the museum curator saw something different in the painting and persuaded the judges to award Wood a $300 prize and purchase the painting for the institute. By the way, she still remains there.
After acquiring the painting, they decided to publish the image in several city newspapers. The unexpected happened, the residents of Iowa, where the painting was painted, were angry satirical image residents of the state. One lady even threatened to bite off the artist's ear.
Grant Wood, in his defense, said that he wanted to create a collective portrait of Americans and did not want to hurt the feelings of the residents of the state. The artist’s sister also saw in the painting a humiliating attitude, albeit towards herself. She told her brother that in the picture she could be mistaken for the wife of a man twice her age. After the painting was shown publicly, Nan claimed that the painting depicted a father and daughter. However, the artist himself did not comment on this matter.
Some critics are confident that the film is a satire on the life of small American towns. During the 1930s, American Gothic became part of a growing critical view of the lives and values of rural America.
Now let's pay attention to some facts. Wood was a regionalist artist, not very well known outside his state. He himself grew up on a farm in the countryside and loved nature and small-town scenery. So why should an artist laugh at what he loves?
While working with Byron McKeeby on the man's image, Wood said he liked Byron's face. The man in the painting is shown wearing round glasses, but McKeeby wore glasses with octagonal lenses. But Wood's father wore round glasses, popular in the 19th century.
The image of the woman was based on her sister. In life Nan was a bright and positive girl, but in the picture she looks much older. Despite the fact that the picture was painted in the 20th century, the clothes of the characters are taken from victorian era, this is confirmed by the apron of the mistress of the house, (which Nan had to tear off from her mother’s dress, since they were no longer sold in stores), as well as the cameo, which was popular at that time.
It is possible that Wood was creating a memory painting in which characters and things reminded him of his childhood and the time when he lived on the farm. Moreover, during the Great Depression, the painting began to be seen as a depiction of the masculinity of American pioneers.
But, despite all this, the picture still leaves a strange, mysterious impression. Perhaps it has to do with the attributes and “behavior” of the heroes. If we look closely at the characters, we will see that the man is standing on foreground, the woman is a little behind. With his elbow, he seems to hold her back, not allowing her to come closer. He holds a pitchfork in his hands, but holds it in a fist, which gives the gesture a slightly threatening appearance.
The church spire can be seen above the house. This is a reference to the heritage of the Puritan pioneers, who adhered to strict rules and did not like it when their property was invaded. quiet life. Behind the man’s back you can see a red barn, which indicates the owner’s occupation, as do the flowers on the veranda. But especially impressionable viewers see in the film the plot of a horror film. Due to this, the picture was subjected to ridicule hundreds, and maybe thousands of times. On the Internet you can find a lot of collages in absolutely different topics, ranging from horror films to parodies of famous characters, musicians, political figures.
Whatever the assumptions of critics and the public, what impression this picture makes is up to us to decide. In Chicago, for example, they thought it was a good idea to erect a monument to the heroes of the picture, as if releasing them into Big city with a suitcase.
Plot
Lost somewhere in the vastness of Iowa is a house whose architecture is a classic example of Carpenter Gothic. At the end of the 19th century, this style formed the “face” of the Midwest. Wanting to somehow decorate their simple houses, provincial craftsmen decorated them with elements in a neo-Gothic Victorian mood.
A man and a woman are depicted in the background of a house. According to one version, this married couple, on the other - a daughter with her father. The artist’s sister Nan especially insisted on the second. She agreed to pose, made an effort to prepare the right suit, and Wood ended up writing her so that she looked much older than her age. To “shave off” a few years, Nan insisted in all interviews that the woman on the canvas was a daughter, not a wife.
Photo source: wikipedia.org
Dentist Byron McKeeby posed for the man. The 62-year-old man's face, according to Wood, seemed to consist of long straight lines. The good-natured McKeeby agreed to become a model, asking only to make sure that his acquaintances did not recognize him. But, alas, everything turned out completely the opposite.
Wood reproduced many of the characters’ appearances from his childhood memories of his parents: his father had round glasses; the patch on the apron was taken from old clothes mothers; the brooch was bought by Wood in Europe for his mother; the church spire as a reminder that the parents, exemplary Presbyterians, met in church.
It's interesting that in real life both models were cheerful, active, and younger. But for the sake of history, they remained in the images that Wood invented for them. And yet the artist gave up. In one of his letters, he stated: “I allowed one strand to fall out to show, despite everything, the humanity of the character.”
"Evaluation" (1931). Photo source: wikipedia.org
Wood borrowed composition and technique from the masters Northern Renaissance, whose work he apparently saw during his trip to Europe. At the same time, Puritan restraint corresponds to the “New Materiality” popular in the 1920s.
Context
The painting was first exhibited in the year of its creation—1930. This happened at the Art Institute of Chicago, where the painting remains to this day. In the year of his debut, the artist received a prize of $300 for the painting. News about the exhibition was circulated " American Gothic", making it recognizable in every corner of the country. Almost immediately, the picture became a source for caricatures and parodies.
Some - for example, Gertrude Stein, one of the critics who immediately appreciated Wood's painting - viewed the painting as a satire on the narrow-mindedness of the inhabitants one-story America. Others saw it as an allegory unwavering spirit Americans whose spirit was not broken by the Great Depression. Wood, when asked about the essence of the painting, answered: “I did not write satire, I tried to portray these people as they were for me in the life that I knew.”
Tourists pose in front of the house depicted in the painting. Photo source: nytimes.com
Iowans didn't like American Gothic. It was advised to hang it in a creamery so that the milk would sour faster with such sour faces. Someone threatened to bite off the artist's ear.
The fate of the artist
Wood himself was one of the same villagers from Iowa. His father died when Grant was 10 years old, so his mother apprenticed him quite early. Already in childhood, he mastered some of the techniques with which he later earned money: working on wood, metal, glass, etc.
Self-portrait. Photo source: wikipedia.org
Wood admitted that best ideas they came when he was milking the cow. At his core, he was more of a craftsman than an artist. After graduating from the University of Chicago School of Art, Wood made jewelry made of silver, and even a long trip to Europe could not radically change it creative path. Yes, he looked at how the masters of the Northern Renaissance worked and adopted a lot from them; yes, he got acquainted with contemporary trends and trends in European art. But still he remained and deliberately strengthened the provincialism and realism of his work. Wood was one of the organizers of the regionalism movement popular in the Midwest. Community representatives chose scenes from the lives of ordinary Americans to create.
Wood began to be parodied and replicated en masse after the gradual recovery from the Great Depression. "American Gothic" with its severity, steadfastness and puritanism began to appear in the theater, cinema and even in pornography.
Sources:
Encyclopedia Britannica
Art Institute Chicago
The New York Times
Steven Biel "American Gothic"
Photo for the announcement on home page and Lida: wikipedia.org
"American Gothic"- painting American artist Grant Wood, created in 1930. One of the most recognizable images in American art of the 20th century.
The painting depicts a farmer and his daughter against the backdrop of a house built in the Carpenter Gothic style. IN right hand The farmer has a pitchfork, which he holds in a tightly clenched fist, just like holding a weapon. Wood managed to convey the unattractiveness of father and daughter - tightly compressed lips and the father’s heavy, defiant gaze, his elbow exposed in front of his daughter, her pulled hair with only one loose curl, her head and eyes slightly turned towards her father, full of resentment or indignation. The daughter is dressed in a typical 19th-century American apron, and the seams on the farmer's clothing resemble a pitchfork in his hand. The outline of a pitchfork can also be seen in the windows of the house in the background. Behind the woman are pots of flowers and a church spire in the distance, and behind the man is a barn. The composition of the painting is reminiscent of American photographs late XIX century.
IN 1 In 930, in the town of Eldon, Iowa, Grant Wood noticed a small white house in the Carpenter Gothic style. He wanted to depict this house and the people who, in his opinion, could live in it. The artist's sister Nan served as the model for the farmer's daughter, and the model for the farmer himself was Byron McKeeby ( Byron McKeeby), artist's dentist from Cedar Rapids ( Cedar Rapids) in Iowa. Wood painted the house and people separately, the scene as we see it in the picture never happened in reality.
Wood presented American Gothic in a competition at the Art Institute of Chicago. The judges praised it as a humorous valentine, but the museum curator convinced them to give the author a prize of $300 and convinced the Art Institute to purchase the painting, where it remains to this day. Soon the picture published in newspapers in Chicago, New York, Boston, Kansas City and Indianapolis. However, after publication in a Cedar Rapids newspaper, there was a negative reaction. Iowans were angry at the way the artist depicted them. One farmer even threatened to bite off Voodoo's ear.)))
Grant Wood justified himself that he did not want to make a caricature of Iowans, but a collective portrait of Americans. Wood's sister was offended because in the painting she could be mistaken for the wife of a man twice her age.
Critics believed that the picture was a satire on rural life small American towns. However, during the Great Depression, attitudes towards the painting changed. It came to be seen as a portrayal of the unwavering spirit of the American pioneers.
According to the number of copies, parodies and allusions in popular culture American Gothic stands alongside such masterpieces as Leonardo's Mona Lisa and Munch's Scream.
The artist's sister and his dentist, from whom the painting was based.
The work of photographer Gordon Parks is considered the first parody.
Countless parodies have been created, here is the smallest part:
Date of creation: 1930
Grant DeVolson Wood (born February 13, 1891 - February 12, 1942) was an American artist known primarily for his paintings of rural life in the American Midwest. Author famous painting"American Gothic" American Gothic. 1930 is one of the most recognizable (and parodied) images in American art of the 20th century. The painting depicts a farmer and his daughter against the backdrop of a house built in the Carpenter Gothic style. In the farmer's right hand is a pitchfork, which he holds in a tightly clenched fist, just like holding a weapon. Wood managed to convey the unattractiveness of father and daughter - tightly compressed lips and the father’s heavy, defiant gaze, his elbow exposed in front of his daughter, her pulled hair with only one loose curl, her head and eyes slightly turned towards her father, full of resentment or indignation. The daughter is wearing an apron that has already gone out of fashion. According to the recollections of the artist’s sister, at his request, she sewed a characteristic edging onto the apron, taking it from her mother’s old clothes. An apron with the same edging is found in another of Wood’s paintings, “Woman with Plants,” a portrait of the artist’s mother. The seams on the farmer's clothes resemble the pitchfork in his hand. The outline of a pitchfork can also be seen in the windows of the house in the background. Behind the woman are pots of flowers (also resembling pitchforks) and a church spire in the distance, and behind the man is a barn. The composition of the painting is reminiscent of American photographs of the late 19th century. The puritanical restraint of the characters largely corresponds to the realism characteristic of European current 1920s "New Substance" (German: Neue Sachlichkeit), which Wood met during a trip to Munich.
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Do you like American Gothic? You can buy it as a canvas in a baguette, printed as a framed photo, or even with a textured gel applied to make it look like the original.
Surkov Igor - its author receives royalties from each sale. By ordering this painting from the online store of paintings, posters and reproductions “Khudsovet”, you are helping this person create new works “American Gothic” is a painting by American artist Grant Wood (1891-1942), known mainly for paintings dedicated to rural life in the American Midwest. The painting was created in 1930. She has become one of the most recognizable and famous paintings
In terms of the number of copies, parodies and allusions in popular culture, “American Gothic” stands alongside such masterpieces as “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci and “The Scream” by Edvard Munch.
The painting depicts a farmer and his daughter against the backdrop of a house built in the Carpenter Gothic style. In the farmer's right hand is a pitchfork, which he holds in a tightly clenched fist, just like holding a weapon.
Wood managed to convey the unattractiveness of father and daughter - tightly compressed lips and the father’s heavy, defiant gaze, his elbow exposed in front of his daughter, her pulled hair with only one loose curl, her head and eyes slightly turned towards her father, full of resentment or indignation. The daughter is wearing an apron that has already gone out of fashion.
According to the recollections of the artist’s sister, at his request, she sewed a characteristic edging onto the apron, taking it from her mother’s old clothes. An apron with the same edging is found in another painting by Wood - “Woman with Plants” - a portrait of the artist’s mother
The seams on the farmer's clothes resemble the pitchfork in his hand. The outline of a pitchfork can also be seen in the windows of the house in the background. Behind the woman are pots of flowers and a church spire in the distance, and behind the man is a barn. The composition of the painting is reminiscent of American photographs of the late 19th century.
The puritanical restraint of the characters is in many ways consistent with the realism characteristic of the 1920s European New Materiality movement, which Wood became acquainted with during a trip to Munich.
In 1930, in Eldon, Iowa, Grant Wood noticed a small white house in the Carpenter Gothic style. He wanted to depict this house and the people who, in his opinion, could live in it. The artist's sister Nan served as a model for the farmer's daughter, and Byron McKeeby, the artist's dentist from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, became the model for the farmer himself. Wood painted the house and people separately, the scene as we see it in the picture never happened in reality.
Wood entered "American Gothic" into competition at the Art Institute of Chicago. The judges praised it as a “humorous valentine,” but the museum curator convinced them to give the author a $300 prize and persuaded the Art Institute to purchase the painting, where it remains to this day. Soon the picture was published in newspapers in Chicago, New York, Boston, Kansas City and Indianapolis.
However, after publication in a Cedar Rapids newspaper, there was a negative reaction. Iowans were angry at the way the artist depicted them. One farmer even threatened to bite off Voodoo's ear. Grant Wood justified himself that he did not want to make a caricature of Iowans, but a collective portrait of Americans. Wood’s sister, offended that in the painting she could be mistaken for the wife of a man twice her age, began to argue that “American Gothic” depicts a father and daughter, but Wood himself did not comment on this point.
Critics such as Gertrude Stein and Christopher Morley believed that the film was a satire of rural life in small American towns. "American Gothic" was part of a growing trend at the time critical image rural America, which was also reflected in the books “Winesburg, Ohio” by Sherwood Anderson, “Main Street” by Sinclair Lewis and others. On the other hand, Wood was accused of idealizing antipathy towards civilization and denying progress and urbanization.
However, during the Great Depression, attitudes towards the painting changed. It came to be seen as a portrayal of the unwavering spirit of the American pioneers.
“All my paintings initially appear as abstractions. When a suitable design appears in my head, I carefully begin to give the conceived model a resemblance to nature. However, I am so afraid of being photographic that, apparently, I stop too early” G. WOOD.
Wood is one of the leading representatives of the movement in American painting called "regionalism". Regionalist artists sought to create authentic american art as opposed to European avant-garde movements, promoting the idea of national independence and cultural identity of America.
Text with illustrations http://maxpark.com/community/6782/content/1914271
Reviews
The picture is very, very ambiguous, and the fact that Americans quite sincerely love it is a manifestation of this. At first glance, this is a caricature (the “idiotic” faces of the couple, etc.). But: a caricature of whom? For farmers? But the farming class is the backbone, the core of American society. Americans will not laugh at the farmer. The day before Civil War The slave-owning planters of the South were proud that they knew how to plow and do other field work themselves.
This is probably why it became a symbol of the Americans. Perhaps this is not entirely clear to us. But each country has its own history and its own priorities. At one time it became a reflection of the invincible spirit of the Americans. Sometimes the picture is criticized, and then it becomes popular.
