American Gothic created by Grant Wood helps capture the struggles and values of rural life during the 1930’s, creatively using an image of a father and daughter to symbolize tradition while things change around them. The painting caught the immediate attention of the public during the Great Depression due to its stunning visuals and allowing viewers to interpret the figures and their past. The artist uses qualities like scale, proportion, and balance to help express his creativity and bring emotion to his work. The painting correctly uses philosophies, including all three types of theories in art. Grant Wood created a painting using oil paints to help create his work. He worked on a Beaverboard made with a 78 cm by 65.3 cm canvas. The piece …show more content…
One of the most important principles of design being used is balance. The symmetrical balance was a remarkably important part of the work and was used by the evenly positioned man and woman. The window was also vertical and helped create balance in the piece. Another principle of design was proportion and scale; the figures are placed in front of the house and are correctly scaled in position to the house. These realistic proportions help create the realism that the artist was trying to convey. The last principle I will point out is the emphasis of the painting. Taking a first look, it is directed toward the man and woman and their stern expressions on theirs. Also, the pitchfork will quickly be noticed, and these two main parts will be looked at the longest and are where the focus point is. Expanding upon the elements of design talked about earlier, color played a vital role in the work by using earthy, neutral, and dim colors to bring the farmer's appearance and the landscape together. The artist uses negative space in the sky to help emphasize the characters and frame them …show more content…
The formal theory focuses on the visual part of the painting and the principles or elements of design used. Grant is proficient in using elements like lines, color, and shapes when creating the farmer's vertical as well as the windows, proving this. Wood used neutral colors in his piece to help show the house and a stereotypical representation of farm life. He also used principles like balance, scale, and proportion well. Making a symmetrical piece that was scaled to be realistic helped create a realistic painting and displayed the farmers accurately. contextual theory helps us understand the period and history of the painting. The “American Gothic” was created during the Great Depression, a time when many Americans faced economic difficulties. This picture placed during this period can be used to show the resilience of the farmers during hardships. The regionalist movement was happening during this period, which embraced rural pictures as opposed to modern ones. The artist was a part of this movement and was influenced, which was a major reason for making it. Finally, the expressive theory is what the artist wants the viewer to feel. Originally, Grant made “American Gothic” with the intention it would represent the strength and integrity of rural Americans. The painting was received differently than expected, and people felt the picture was a mockery and pictured rural life