Girlhood in19th Century American Art - Research Paper Example

Girlhood in19th Century American Art Girlhood in the 19th Century American Art features various paintings, photographs, sculptures, and print images of girls as represented in the American culture of the nineteenth century. Various artists including John Singer Sarget, Cecilia Beaux, Thomas Eakins, William Merritt Chase, and Winslow Homer collected the various works depictions that depict girls in different dimensions and orientations (Newark Museum Web). The depictions represent the element of American diversity in the sense that it brings together girls from different racial backgrounds, ages, and other demographic variables who illustrate different features and aspects of girlhood that condenses the aspect of beauty in the context of the nineteenth century America. Beauty, culture, and history are presented in multiple dimensions that effectively portray the subtle aesthetics and meanings as understood within the specific context. The depictions are creatively presented in ways that capture impressions, attitudes, values, and perspectives of the girl-child and American social values that related to perceptions about the girl child in the nineteenth century. Assessed together, the artwork portray the sum of the collective world views of the artists as seen in a changing society whose new secular values were easily taking over customs and practices established in the old religious order. The paintings combine influences of realism, surrealism, expressionism, modernism, and abstract forms. This different ways of presentations manifest the varying kinds of imaginations that were attached to the girl-child by the American society. The use of color and balance in the images appropriately captures the depictions of girls in accordance with the attitudes of the artists regarding the character of the girls. Brightly colored images, paintings, and pictures are intended to portray the beauty, tenderness, vulnerability, and hopes that were connected to the imaginations of the girl-child (Bolt 59). The artists use dress, face, eyes, light, color, and decorations to illustrate the dominant values of American beauty. The floral dresses, the petite figures, and the brightly colored foregrounds have the impact of portraying some level of innocence in the character and aspect of the girls. Some artworks stretch the essence of beauty and innocence of the girls to represent some form of celestial glory by capturing the girls in the image of the angels. By likening the image of girls to that of heavenly beings, the artists seek to foster the impression that girlhood in the American society of the nineteenth century was supposed to align with the qualities of purity, tenderness, and righteousness. As such, the images of the girls as represented in the ‘Girlhood in the 19th Century America’ are deliberately presented to challenge the liberal and nearly corrupt representation of girls in the America of the twenty first century. The background and foreground of the images are effectively controlled in a way that magnifies certain aspects of the girls’ character according to the aesthetic dimensions of the artists. In a significant sense, the portrayal of the facial features is consistent with the dominant values of America of the twentieth century. The portrayal of the eyes, face, forehead, and other facial features effectively brings out characterization in ways that are consistent with some of the dominant perceptions of the character of the girl child in the American society. In total, the depictions illustrate a combination of characters for the girls, which include mildness, naivety, assertiveness, and confidence. Others appear to be aggressive, reflective, religious, and focused. The difference in the portrayal of the girls is consistent with some of the forces that attend to the cultural and societal changes that had impacted on the girls in the United States of the nineteenth century. Various influences had emerged to affect the girls and their attitudes in life. Some of the influences include religion, secularism, materialism, and racial realities. Works of art develop within some specific cultural milieu. Artists tend to develop works of art in accordance with some of the perspectives upheld by the society. The works of art represented in ‘Girlhood in America’ portrays the values and aspirations of the American society in accordance with the sentimental values attached to the girl-child. These artworks capture the element of feminism and gender realities in the American values as observed from the perspective of the girl child. The place of the girl in the American context of the nineteenth century has been explored in many works of art that seek to redefine or critique societal expectations and discrimination that features variously within the American society. In some way, this change is portrayed both in a positive and negative light. Some images tend to capture the essence of decadence, while others are more progressive and positive. The cultural aspects of the American society is effectively captured in the dress and other material aspects of culture that appear either at the foreground of the works or in the background. The presentation of the background and the foreground brings enhance the meaning and setting of the depictions in ways that appropriately situate the artworks into their specific context. It is possible for a viewer to tell the specific period represented by the works of art by studying some of the physical features that are captured either at the foreground or at the background. Foregrounding and back grounding are effectively used as techniques of the artists to expand the understanding of the viewer with regard to matters of geographic and historic context. The images in shown together with the girls help to enhance the quality and level of objectivity of the paintings. They also help in developing the understanding of the mood of the depictions and the quality of images as covered within the specific contexts as captured by the various artworks. The setting of the depictions is as varied as the number of the depictions. Some of the girls are represented in classrooms, buildings, and natural backgrounds. Others are featured in indescribable background or fictitious environments. These differences help to provide insights into the orientation of the artists with regard to the perspectives upheld by the artists (Nelson and Lynne 91). Others provide important clues as to the social lives and activities that engaged the attention of the girls within American society of the nineteenth century. As such, the presentation of the various depictions is important in the manner in which they help to furnish the themes of gender roles and socialization as understood from the perspective of American girls. To some significant degree, the images of the girl child as captured within this images help to capture the element of identity and the self of the American girl. Born within the rigid patriarchal worldview, the girl child is represented as an individual who seeks some space for self-realization from the normative restrictions of the society. The image of the girl child in these depictions is effectively created with the purpose of illustrating the forces that determine the nature of girlhood and the social roles that determine character and image. To some extent, the images, in their totality, appear to offer the moral compass and the edifice of virtue and control that informed perceptions of the girl and the discourse of young womanhood in the America society. Some of the artworks capture the essence of transition. On one hand, there appears some aspect of conformity to the tradition and customary practices. Such images are presented through the tranquility and the composure that is easily manifest in the aspect of some of the images. On the other hand, there is the aspect of restlessness and unease on the part of the girls. There seems to be a yearning for a greater life and expanded freedom than what the American society of the nineteenth century offered. The desire to transcend beyond the boundaries of norms and tradition effectively illustrates the different forces that work within the fabric of the society (Forman-Brunell 55). As such, some of the images could be analyzed in terms of a linkage between the influences of the rigid and the unyielding perspectives of the nineteenth century and the emerging secularism and permissiveness of the intervening periods. Because of these depictions, the artworks present a mixture of influences that are consistent with the different historical forces that have shaped the American perceptions on girlhood since the nineteenth century. The effective use of technique in these images illustrates the aspects of perceptions and values within the specific context of the nineteenth century America. Works Cited Bolt, Barbara. Art Beyond Representation: The Performative Power of the Image. London: Tauris, 2004. Forman-Brunell, Miriam. Girlhood in America: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2001. Nelson, Claudia and Lynne Vallone. The Girl's Own: Cultural Histories of the Anglo-American Girl, 1830-1915. New York: University of Georgia Press, 2010 Newark Museum. Angels and Tomboys: Girlhood in 19th-Century American Art. Newark Museum.org. 20 Jan, 2013 Web. 4 Jan, 2013. Read More