A well known example of American Realism is Andrew Wyeth. He has a certain "affection" for the objects and people which surround him. These Wyeth records with remarkable likeness, poetic charm, and a "powerful silence". These statements can be applied to both people and still life. I agree with David McCord in his statement in Andrew Wyeth, page 24, "to that powerful silence one must add enormous stillness." All of Wyeth's works emit that special poetic charm, but it is best illustrated in his use of water versus the landscape. In River Cove the water sits so still and calm it appears to be dead. The only life visible on the land is a few clam and mussel shells along with the tracks left behind by some local bird. The only fauna that can be seen is reflection of evergreens in the water. This painting is hauntingly still with a profound simplicity. There are no people visible, and no evidence of people inhabiting the area. In this sense the viewer has a "birds eye view" of an untouched, natural paradise. The "powerful silence" and "enormous silence" described by David McCord in the opening paragraph is most apparent in Wyeth's distinguished piece appropriately named after its subject entitled Christina's World. In Christina's World Wyeth depicts his young neighbor struggling to reach a farm house, perhaps her home, in the distance. The strongest emotion which radiates from this painting is silence. There are no other figured in the portrait as the crippled girl looks longingly to the farm. A slight breeze is detectable as strands of Christina's hair float as wisps. The sea-shell pink dress gives the subject a sense of maturity and girl-hood at the same time. Her back is turned towards the viewer so any emotion Christina is feeling must be derived from her body positioning and the outstretched arms. The other colors in the painting may be considered bland, but to me they are rich with the color of the earth. This draws the viewers eye first to Christina (in the contrasting pink dress) and then to the earth toned farmhouse at the top of the hill. Christina's World may even represent something greater. The field is brown, yet endless. Although crippled Christina props herself up on her arms. This can be an allegory showing life holding on, which is why people can identify with the painting so well. A person can see that life pulls through even in art so it will make them feel optimistic about their own life. About the creation of Christina's World Wyeth has said: When I painted it in 1948, Christina's World hung all summer in my house in Maine and nobody particularly reacted to it. I thought, 'Boy is this one a flat tire.' Now I get at least a letter a week from all over the world, usually wanting to know what she's doing. Actually there isn't any definite story. The way the tempera happened, I was in an upstairs room in the Olson house and saw Christina crawling in the field, I later went down on the road and made a pencil drawing of the house, but went down into the field. You see, my memory was more of a reality than the thing itself. I didn't put Christina in till the very end. I worked on the hill for months, that brown grass, and kept thinking about her in her pink dress like a faded lobster shell I might find on the beach, crumpled, finally I got up enough courage to say to her, " Would you mind if I made a drawing of you sitting outside?" and drew her crippled arms and hands. Finally, I was so shy about posing her, I got my wife Betsy to pose for her figure. Then it came time to lay in Christina's figure against that planet I'd created for her all those weeks, I put this pink tone on her shoulder - and it almost blew me across the room." (Corn pp.38) Wyeth's American Realism style has a French counterpart - Edouard Manet. In Wyeths Helga series, the young women (Helga) is painted both in the nude and clothed. She is depicted in various poses; Helga stands, lays on a bed facing away from the viewer, looks over her shoulder, and many other positions Wyeth himself feels is appealing to the viewer. Manet's Olympia and Wyeth's Black Velvet are similar in content and form, yet have contradicting purposes and motivations. Manet was concerned with showing the boldness of a woman (perhaps a prostitute) with no subtle allure. By doing this he defies tradition and then went a step further by using a minimum of shading, flattened them so that they resembled the figures in Japanese prints. (Fiero, 98) Helga in Black Velvet is similar to Olympia in her body positioning, except her head is turned away and she appears to be asleep. Wyeth's motive, unlike Manet, was to "preserve the abstract flesh". (Wilmerding, 60) By using the black velvet ribbon around his subjects neck (such as Manet did) and keeping the rest of her body perfectly nude, Wyeth draws attention to and emphasizes her nakedness. In Olympia the black velvet may raise attention to the females availability, but in Black Velvet the ribbon calls attention to Helga's innocence and unguarded sexuality. Another portrait from the Helga series, titled Crown of Flowers illustrates Wyeth's poetic charm. Helga's hair is down and flowing with the vitality of youth. Her blue eyes stare off into the distance while a slight smile, similar to that of the Mona Lisa's is displayed upon her face. A crown of flowers adorns her head. The flowers represent the beauty of Helga at this time and the fleetingness of youth. Helga and her crown are almost personifies as nature itself . Natural, beautiful, and true Helga can be compared to Rembrandt's Saskia as Flora. A young woman, an adolescent on the verge of womanhood, wears a crown of flowers similar to Helga's. Although Rembrandt's figure is ornately dressed with a more elaborate crown, the crown of flowers can be seen as representing the same idea in each painting. As John Wilmerding stated on page 60 of The Helga Series each womans floral wreath links her to natures capacity for growth and rebirth. Even the most mundane subjects can be brought to life by Wyeth's talented hand and palette. In Groundhog Day a simple place setting is displayed upon a table while sun drifts in through a window above the table. Through the windowpane a barbed wire fence can be seen, along with logs which have been freshly cut. Behind this is the start of a forest and the continuation of the barbed wire fence. This picture represents the simplicity and beauty of farm life. The delicate imagery of flower arrangements on the wall paper releases a comfortable feeling of home and welcomes the viewer to the painting. Many people outside of New England, especially in the cities of may not understand the beauty of simplicity in country life. This is one way, by painting, where Wyeth can show them the homely grace of the true countryman. (McCord, 23) Wyeth's work also resembles that of his contemporaries. Take for example his admiration and resemblance in his early work to that of Winslow Homer. Homers oil on canvas often appear "busy" compared to that of Wyeth. Take for instance Homer's The Country School. The teacher stands in front of the class and reads to the students as they follow along in their own books.
1509 wds