American Gothic by Grant Wood: Scandal and Masterpiece in One Canvas

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

American Gothic is a 1930 painting by American artist Grant Wood. One of the most recognizable images in 20th century American art and the most satirical canvas of its time. What is satire?

Among the most influential artists in the American Midwest of the 20th century, Grant Wood is known for his unique contributions to regionalism, a movement in American painting of the 1930s that refers to the depiction of images and scenes from the life of the American Midwest. His detailed, polished painting style reflected the traditional, old-fashioned values of a small town in Iowa. In this he was influenced by the Flemish artist Jan van Eyck, known for his meticulous and brilliant portrayal of details (especially jewelry and textures). Voodoo enjoyed exploring the smallest details of Flemish realism and learning how to carefully paint his strokes to capture his subjects in true form.

Painting history

In the summer of 1930, Wood visited Eldon, Iowa to see the city's art exhibition. While there, he was struck by a small white house with a Gothic-style window, which Wood found too "pretentious" for such a modest home. He sketched the house on paper, preparing the basis for his famous painting. The house is a real farm building on Dibble House, which he saw in the Iowa town of Eldon.

Sister Nan and Dentist McKeebe

The painting depicts a middle-aged couple (usually interpreted as a farmer and his wife) standing in front of their house facing the audience. This is a wooden farmhouse. As posing models, Grant Wood invited his sister Nan and 62-year-old dentist Byron McKeeee, capturing them in traditional dress. McKeebee's doctor probably felt a little obligated, as Wood's love of sugar (he even added it to salad) made him the perfect dentist client. In turn, Wood had the opportunity to study his physician thoroughly, including his hands, which eventually held the emblematic villas in Wood's painting.

Judging by the expressions on the characters' faces, they don't seem to be living a fulfilling or joyful life. As a rule, there is a certain asceticism in the depiction of people in America in the 1930s, which manifested itself in American Gothic. The reason may be the difficult political and domestic economic situation - the Great American Depression. Thursday, October 24, 1929 in the United States of America is still called "black" - on this day the stock market collapsed and began the most difficult period for the country, the Great Depression, which lasted for 12 long years. One look at the gloomy and gloomy expressions on the faces of the models speaks of their true feelings about their lives and their environment. In the portrait, a tough, cold-blooded woman frowns into the distance. The man with tightly pressed lips looks no less stern and even gloomy, holding his villas tightly in his hand. The main principle of painting a picture is the desire for the Gothic style, the main feature of which is elongation and striving upward. Here are the faces (including long noses and necks), the build of people, the house itself and even the windows behind the characters are depicted exaggeratedly elongated. Why did Wood make this couple so sad and serious?

Satirical overtones

Grant Wood once said that these are "people who, as it seemed to me, should live in this house," thereby hinting that the couple and the house were initially ridiculous and not foldable. This is a satire, to which certain elements on the pictures come back again and again. The same author's satire also touched the farmhouse (although this new form of "American Gothic" architecture was economical and much more practical for the typical American family in the era of the depression than genuine Gothic architecture, Wood seems to disagree with attempts to make stately Gothic architecture suitable For American farmers) Another small mystery of the painting is the excessive formality of the plot: a black dress and a brooch of a farm woman, a dark blue jacket of a male farmer and a clean-shaven face, clean shiny villas - all this gives the work a slightly surreal and exaggerated quality.

The symbolism of the picture

The pitchfork is a richly symbolic item. The three-pointed spear can be seen as a symbol of hard work and hard work. It seems that the artist is introducing the notorious idea of the American Dream into the picture (those who work hard will reap the fruits of their hard work). In Greek mythology, this spear is called a trident and it was a symbol of the powerful Poseidon, the god of the sea. In Christianity, the pitchfork is associated with the devil and evil activities. The apron with a colonial woman print symbolizes the America of the 19th century. Flowers and plants on the porch - household. The characters' facial expressions can symbolize the severe hardships faced by villagers in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Assessment by art historians and Midwesterners

Grant Wood might have thought that his satire from a small Midwestern town would be funny and the people would accept the picture with a smile, but the public opinion was divided: 1. The stereotypical portrayal of Midwesterners, coupled with pitchforks, overalls, and a house, has led many art historians to interpret the piece as a satirical commentary on small-town culture. 2. In fact, the painting caused a storm of protest and outrage when a copy of the image appeared in a local newspaper. Readers were outraged by Wood's portrayal of somber Puritans. The Iowans were not kind, and many expressed serious disgust at the way the canvas represented the life of the Iowans. Other art critics found "American Gothic" even insulting to the common people, a low blow to these hardworking men and women. One farm woman was so enraged by the painting that she threatened to bite off Voodoo's ear. Another local suggested that Wood's head was out of order. In any case, and for any assessment of this masterpiece, "American Gothic" made Wood famous. Prior to this breakthrough, Wood was an unknown 39-year-old aspiring artist living in the attic of a carriage house outside a funeral home. After the success of American Gothic, he began to rewrite the history of writing and the meaning of his painting many times to bring it in line with the trend of the time.

Composition

If we do not take into account the exaggeration and satirical subtext of Wood's painting, otherwise it is compositionally carefully planned. To begin with, the composition is inherently complex. Consists of vertical and horizontal lines, combined with round elements (rounded apron cutout, rounded trees, and round glasses for a man). In addition, the tines of the hay fork are aligned with the house's window bars as well as the seams of the farmer's overalls. The gothic window finds echoes in the faces of the characters (nose and mouth).

American Gothic is undoubtedly Wood's masterpiece and ranks among the finest portrait paintings of its time. Like the Mona Lisa, she remains an enigmatic composition, an icon of 20th century American art, and one of the greatest paintings of the Midwest.