Born on November 3, 1905, in Boston Massachusetts, Harlem Renaissance famous writer, Lois Mailou Jones was born not knowing the artistic, knowledgeable, and well-known lady she would become. Lois was an African American women who was a successful artist and teacher. She taught at Howard University, was the First African American to exhibit art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and received countless acknowledgements through her life and after she deceased. Despite the challenges Lois may have faced because of her race, Jones’ superlative education and her encouraging surroundings, caused her to excel in her artistic abilities, living a life full of expression through her talent, especially through her most famous work “The Ascent of Ethiopia”
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“The Ascent of Ethiopia” illustrates the journey of the African American race as they have altered their status of who they are over time. When first gazing at the painting, observers are drawn to the blue figure in the lower left hand corner, wearing the Egyptian headdress to signify the importance of the Ethiopian painting. The North Star in the upper left hand corner shines down upon the people, representing the star they led slaves to the north, where freedom was. The position of the hunched over figures were also used to signify the cry for mercy as they journeyed to the top of the picture. Jones creates a color scheme to emphasize the message she is trying to send. She paints a cool blue and black setting to set the tone of struggle and hardship in the bottom of the staircase and as you ascend to the top of the staircase you see yellow, representing hope, triumph and new beginnings for the culture. The Egyptian painting also alludes to the African American race as how many people of times associate them together, where in this case Jones represents them. Overall, the print displays the progression of the African American culture by physically representing them through the peaks of the Egyptian painting, expressing their heritage as it grows, reveals how people have struggled from a society that was once so different from other cultures
“The Ascent of Ethiopia” illustrates the journey of the African American race as they have altered their status of who they are over time. When first gazing at the painting, observers are drawn to the blue figure in the lower left hand corner, wearing the Egyptian headdress to signify the importance of the Ethiopian painting. The North Star in the upper left hand corner shines down upon the people, representing the star they led slaves to the north, where freedom was. The position of the hunched over figures were also used to signify the cry for mercy as they journeyed to the top of the picture. Jones creates a color scheme to emphasize the message she is trying to send. She paints a cool blue and black setting to set the tone of struggle and hardship in the bottom of the staircase and as you ascend to the top of the staircase you see yellow, representing hope, triumph and new beginnings for the culture. The Egyptian painting also alludes to the African American race as how many people of times associate them together, where in this case Jones represents them. Overall, the print displays the progression of the African American culture by physically representing them through the peaks of the Egyptian painting, expressing their heritage as it grows, reveals how people have struggled from a society that was once so different from other cultures