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Use of art in realism

Aaron Douglas was one of the best artists in African American history. In Harlem Renaissance, he was one of the main figures. His main idea and concern were the social issues concerning race and segregation at that time. His art was African based, and it appealed a lot to the black population of America. He founded the art department at Fisk University in Nashville, and this is where he taught visual art until the time he retired, which was in 1966. (Aaron & Ater, 03) He is seen as the father of African American art, and his art is considered the foundation of modern art. Therefore the use of art to help people understand how the world is like is important. However, Douglas views it differently. He sees that life has to be imitated in reality, but that reality has to be presented in an art form. Therefore this calls for the art form to represent the real world and the real happenings. However, it is brought out in a creative and beautiful art style and mind. It is through this representation of facts that the world can change and become better. This is what he intended when he created traditional African life before colonization and displayed how Africans had a good life anchored onto the community.

Douglas tells us of the way different artists have used conflicting methods to display the world. He asserts that the world has to be represented in its natural form but simultaneously in an artistic tune that makes people wish to imitate the beauty with which reality is presented with. He also tries to deal with stereotypes and African heritage. In his work titled the aspects of negro life, Douglas proved that Africans had a good life and were happy even before colonization and the slave trade. This is a depiction of the truth of reality that the western world had almost forgotten. Therefore this indicates that he tried to deal with the different stereotypes, which made the society unable to balance. This also, to some extend, deals with the issue of race and racism. Therefore his call to artists should give the real and stop falsifying the way the world is seen. This is because what the artists portray the world to be is what the world in the people’s minds becomes. This is because art has the power and ability to influence a significant number of people.

An example of an early painting is ‘The Angelus.’ This is an oil painting by a French artist. This indicates that the two peasants represented in the photo are saying the angelus after they hear the bell of the church from a distance ring (Fried, 435). This indicates their dedication to God and that the days’ work is over and they can go home. Therefore this can be referred to as one of the early realistic methods of artistic representation that Jean-François Millet tries to bring to the viewers’ minds.

The second example of a later art of alteration is the Swords to Plowshares Stained Glass Alter. This is an image concerned with the alter and the mother of Jesus. The two forms of art represent some truth about the life people go through. It means the time people live in and what they believe in. the first art by millet tells us that it is at that time that the people fully believed in God, and they even prayed as the church stipulated three times a day. This is a depiction of the truth and reality of that time in a social context. The second artwork displays how the church and especially the Catholic Church value the mother of Jesus in the church. It also talks of the Holy Eucharist place in the church as it displays the altar and mother Mary.

Therefore from a fundamental point of view, these two works of art try to identify and communicate the reality of each of their present times to the person viewing the work of art. Artists have used different methods to achieve this reality presentation. Some of the ways the artists have been able to accomplish this are by depicting the time of these works of art, and therefore, the social basis of that time helps us understand fully what is meant by the works of art.

The angelus work of art speaks a lot about humanity’s history, and this does not leave America behind. Therefore it is part and parcel of this history. The artwork displays and talks about religion as well as its influence on everyday and social life. On the other hand, modern American novel talks of how American life and society have developed and changed over time. The author compares the thirties and forties and gives a comparison between then and the sixties. Therefore, this represents the life of two different types of people, and within the book, we find a place where the angelus can be fixed so well. This was when the American people got Christianity, and they changed their lifestyles because of this Christianity and thus followed every step of the way shown to them by it.

Renaissance art is a perfect type of art made up of different views and ideas about the world’s reality as expressed by the artists of that time (Nagel, 115). This was when Christianity was not a crucial aspect of social life like it had been before, and therefore, the art of this time-shifted from a Christian one to a more secular one. The art of alteration refers to when the former art is altered to fit the present time’s needs, which has been prevalent for a long time.

Works cited

Douglas, Aaron, and Renée Ater. Aaron Douglas: African American Modernist. Yale University Press, 2007.

Fried, Michael. Manet’s Modernism: Or, the Face of Painting in the 1860s. University of Chicago Press, 1996.

Nagel, Alexander. The Controversy of Renaissance Art. University of Chicago Press, 2011.