The American Civil War, or most likely to be known as The Civil War, was the United States of America’s most bloodiest war. Around 620,000 American citizens were killed, with millions more ending up wounded. American art was truly changed during and after this gruesome war. The Civil War caused artist 's’ inspiration to drastically turn dark and have deeper meanings than before.
Photographers and the first cameras were around during the Civil War. However, photographers could not easily capture the moments of the war. So, publishers and newspapers hired illustrators to document the war. These illustrators were young white men; they ranged from soldiers, engineers, lithographers ( Lithography: A printing process in which the image to …show more content…
It is a very violent drawing; it explicitly shows President Lincoln being shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth. At that time, it was perceived more like news than an art piece, in all reality. This drawing was created out of grief, as the North was now under a giant manhunt for Booth. This lithograph is just only one example of how dark artists were willing to get in order to make a point or describe their feelings. Most of the dark art pieces had to deal with death. “Patriot Mother at her Boy’s Grave” obviously deals with the harsh reality of death. This drawing was created in 1865 by an unknown artist. The mother is wearing all black and this is meant to show she is mourning. It symbolizes the struggle to cope with death and the unsure feeling on how to handle death; since so many died during the war, it was not uncommon for families to never receive a body. The dead were plentiful and many were left unidentified; mass graves and graveyards were created where they laid and all still remain to this …show more content…
It has always been about men, whether they were suffering or defending something. In “The Home of the Red, White, and Blue”, women are playing the lead role and there is also a theme of remembrance. This painting was painted by Lilly Martin Spencer, in oil on canvas, in 1867 and 1868. In the painting, women and children are standing and looking over a tattered American flag. This tattered flag is meant to symbolize the country being torn apart. The women in the painting are patriotic and nurturing; it shows how repairing the broken nation became women’s work. There are men in the scene, but they are playing a secondary role. They are sitting off towards the side and not made to be the focal point; this could represent how men were recovering from the war that had just recently ended. The deep, underlying theme of this painting is that women’s actions had now just reached beyond their
Photographers and the first cameras were around during the Civil War. However, photographers could not easily capture the moments of the war. So, publishers and newspapers hired illustrators to document the war. These illustrators were young white men; they ranged from soldiers, engineers, lithographers ( Lithography: A printing process in which the image to …show more content…
It is a very violent drawing; it explicitly shows President Lincoln being shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth. At that time, it was perceived more like news than an art piece, in all reality. This drawing was created out of grief, as the North was now under a giant manhunt for Booth. This lithograph is just only one example of how dark artists were willing to get in order to make a point or describe their feelings. Most of the dark art pieces had to deal with death. “Patriot Mother at her Boy’s Grave” obviously deals with the harsh reality of death. This drawing was created in 1865 by an unknown artist. The mother is wearing all black and this is meant to show she is mourning. It symbolizes the struggle to cope with death and the unsure feeling on how to handle death; since so many died during the war, it was not uncommon for families to never receive a body. The dead were plentiful and many were left unidentified; mass graves and graveyards were created where they laid and all still remain to this …show more content…
It has always been about men, whether they were suffering or defending something. In “The Home of the Red, White, and Blue”, women are playing the lead role and there is also a theme of remembrance. This painting was painted by Lilly Martin Spencer, in oil on canvas, in 1867 and 1868. In the painting, women and children are standing and looking over a tattered American flag. This tattered flag is meant to symbolize the country being torn apart. The women in the painting are patriotic and nurturing; it shows how repairing the broken nation became women’s work. There are men in the scene, but they are playing a secondary role. They are sitting off towards the side and not made to be the focal point; this could represent how men were recovering from the war that had just recently ended. The deep, underlying theme of this painting is that women’s actions had now just reached beyond their