Aaron Douglass's Influence On African Americans

During the late 1900’s, an aesthetic movement known as primitivism integrated itself into Modern art. African and Pacific Island motifs, fetishes, and design elements were adopted into the work of Modern artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Moore.19 The rise in popularity of these primitive inspired artworks helped to influence Black Americans in investigating and reconnecting with their own cultural heritage.20 One of the concerns facing Black Americans was how to merge the heritage of their ancestors with being an American. Through music, the Blues evolved from African tribal songs to songs workers would sing while laboring in the fields before and after slavery. When Black American migrated north, the Blues transformed into Jazz

Douglas grew up in Topeka, Kansas where he first expressed his love for art as a young child. Supported by his mother, Douglass studied fine arts at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, but would obtain his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Kansas.25 In 1924, Douglas moved to New York to pursue his artistic craft. Upon arriving in New York, Douglas met with German artist Winold Reiss. Throughout the Harlem Renaissance Reiss mentored many young black artists, including Archibald Motley.26 Through Reiss’ own exploration into human dignity in his art, he was able to relate to Douglas’ own need to advocate for cultural

The gradations of violet in the painting are separated by rays of light. How the light intersects with the objects in the painting is reminiscent of Cubism, the light rays don’t alter the perspective of the overall piece. The flat figures and objects in Noah’s Ark are a salute to Egyptian wall painting, however, they differ since Douglas overlaps them create spatial