Answer to Question #266497 in History for Eliza

Question

What evidences can you provide to support your claim on the significant depiction of the painting of each artist? Discuss each artist.

Answer 1

A picture is worth a thousand words, and like texts, art is often meant to be read through critical deconstruction. Paintings can be far more complicated than they appear at first glance and difficult to decipher if the viewer doesn’t speak the same tongue.

The first artist is Andrew Wyeth who painted Christina’s World in 1948. “Christina’s World” continues to fascinate more than 70 years after it was first painted. The faceless woman lying on the ground was Anna Christina Olson, the neighbor and muse of Pennsylvania artist Andrew Wyeth. This painting has all the hallmarks of a pastoral, which signifies that Olson’s pose is not one of romantic languor; she suffered from a muscle wasting disorder possibly Charcot-Marie Tooth disease and was known to drag herself across the family homestead.

The second artist is Jan van Eyck who painted Arnolfini Portrait in 1434. This early Netherlandish panel painting is shrouded in symbolism. The painting signifies that the elegantly dressed couple are thought to be Giovanni di Nicolao di Arnolfini, and his wife, Costanza Trenta, wealthy Italians living in Bruges.

The third artist is Grant Wood who painted American Gothic. Grant Wood spent years searching for inspiration in Europe. The work that would make him famous, however, was painted after his return to the heartland. A national icon and leading exponent of regionalism, “American Gothic” depicts what appears to be a Depression-era farmer and his weathered wife. Grant intended the couple to represent father and daughter; in reality, they were neither.