Art and architecture are huge influences on culture. Furthering movements of all different sorts is the goal of many artists in American history. Artists react to events as they occur, voicing their opinion through visuals rather than words. Sometimes the opinions of the artists reflect the public opinion, and sometimes they reveal reality. Art and architecture are important to U.S and world history, not just for understanding the past, but interpreting the present.
The Colonial period was a critical time in American History that would shape the remaining course of U.S history. Johannes Stradanus painted Amerigo Vespucci Awakens a Sleeping America from Nova Reperta which portrays the awakening of America by Europe, as if it was not already …show more content…
John White’s The Sorcerer paints an image of a Native American performing magic. This piece instilled fear of natives into the hearts of many; in America and Europe. While works like these floated around, others, like Benjamin West, portrayed Natives in a different light. In his work The Savage Chief, he molds the image of the “Noble Savage.” The image has the clothing and skin tone of a native, but the face structure and physique of a European. Witnesses to this work saw a welcoming, prideful native, someone who could be a part of society if they were to convert to …show more content…
The Revolution was accompanied by a wave of pro-American art and a new discovery of self-identity. The rejection of British culture stemmed from new found freedom. Some artists not only rejected English culture, but promoted violence against Britain. John Vanderlym was one of these extremists. He painted The Death of Jane McCrea, a violent anti-British work that shows a British woman being slaughtered by Native Americans. Other revolutionaries painted Brits in a bad light, like Paul Revere in his work Bloody Massacre, that depicted the events of the Boston Massacre inaccurately. The work makes it seem as though the red coats attacked the unarmed colonists unwarranted, which time has told to be untrue. Other artists chose to show Americans heroically on the battlefield like in John Trumbull’s The Death of General Joseph Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill and George Washington at the Battle of Trenton. This kind of art stirred up patriotic sentiment towards revolutionaries and made support for independence
The Colonial period was a critical time in American History that would shape the remaining course of U.S history. Johannes Stradanus painted Amerigo Vespucci Awakens a Sleeping America from Nova Reperta which portrays the awakening of America by Europe, as if it was not already …show more content…
John White’s The Sorcerer paints an image of a Native American performing magic. This piece instilled fear of natives into the hearts of many; in America and Europe. While works like these floated around, others, like Benjamin West, portrayed Natives in a different light. In his work The Savage Chief, he molds the image of the “Noble Savage.” The image has the clothing and skin tone of a native, but the face structure and physique of a European. Witnesses to this work saw a welcoming, prideful native, someone who could be a part of society if they were to convert to …show more content…
The Revolution was accompanied by a wave of pro-American art and a new discovery of self-identity. The rejection of British culture stemmed from new found freedom. Some artists not only rejected English culture, but promoted violence against Britain. John Vanderlym was one of these extremists. He painted The Death of Jane McCrea, a violent anti-British work that shows a British woman being slaughtered by Native Americans. Other revolutionaries painted Brits in a bad light, like Paul Revere in his work Bloody Massacre, that depicted the events of the Boston Massacre inaccurately. The work makes it seem as though the red coats attacked the unarmed colonists unwarranted, which time has told to be untrue. Other artists chose to show Americans heroically on the battlefield like in John Trumbull’s The Death of General Joseph Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill and George Washington at the Battle of Trenton. This kind of art stirred up patriotic sentiment towards revolutionaries and made support for independence