Ir al contenido principal

American Landscape with Revolutionary Heroes (work of art)

Información sobre la obra de arte

Creado
1983
Artista
Roger Brown
Nacionalidad
Americana
Nacimiento/Muerte
1941-1997
Dimensiones
84 x 144 inches (213.4 x 365.8 centimeters)

Crédito

Purchased with funds from the Madeleine Johnson Heidrick Bequest

Número de objeto
84.2
Cultura
Americana
Clasificación
Pinturas
Departamento
Moderno

Ideas clave sobre esta obra de arte

  • Roger Brown was one of the Chicago Imagists. This group of artists used bright colors, bold lines, and distorted shapes. Brown’s art was influenced by comic books, wallpaper patterns, and movie theater architecture. He was also inspired by folk art, naïve art, and art deco styles. Brown often used his art to comment on current events.
  • This painting shows six American founding fathers: Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, James Madison and John Marshall. They seem to be standing on a stage. The striped background and the 13 tree shapes remind us of the first American flag, which had a star for each of the 13 states. 
  • The Founding Fathers helped to build the United States of America as a new country. They wrote documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, to define how the government would work. They were the country’s first lawmakers and leaders. They believed that America should be based on ideas of freedom, equality, and democracy.
  • The Founding Fathers lived and worked during the period of slavery in America. Many of them owned enslaved people. The government they built allowed slavery to continue for years to come. The title of Brown’s painting refers to these men as “heroes” and focuses on the positive things they did. It does not make reference to the darker side of America’s founding.

Más información

Brown’s self-consciously American style borrows from the popular culture traditions of comic books; flat, hypnotic patterns of wallpaper; and vivid creations of folk and surrealist art. Associated with the group of postwar artists known as the Chicago Imagists, Brown embraced fantasy and irreverence while engaging in social and political commentary.

His stagelike composition features the iconic silhouettes of six founding fathers (from left to right: Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, James Madison, and John Marshall). Lined up in front of an illuminated landscape “backdrop” suggesting the Stars and Stripes, these heroes of yesteryear are shrouded in shadow, as if making their final curtain call.

 

Tags: contemporary, American Revolution, social studies, silhouette

Recursos adicionales

Recursos para los profesores

 

Recursos para los estudiantes 

Imágenes

  • A large oil painting of six standing male silhouettes and 13 tree silhouettes against a striped background in shades of blue, gray, and white.

    Paisaje americano con héroes revolucionarios