This picture was painted in 1887 with the intent to show what life was like in the tenements. Although the author is unknown, we can infer that maybe the artist wanted to sugar coat the hardships people faced in tenements by making the children appear to be laughing. If we look closer, we can see many children gathering around a fire hydrant that a man is flushing out. The reason the children are so delighted by this is because the children probably had not had a bath in a while. The flushing of the fire hydrants allowed them to clean off for free. Thinking about how these children idolize something such as a bath, which Americans have easy access to, makes understanding the poverty in tenements much easier. What I can take from this is that something as simple as a bath can be a life saver in the eyes of a poor, hardworking child laborer.
"Max Schmitt In A Single Scull" By: Thomas Eakins
In this painting, a man can be seen rowing his boat down a river. Painted in 1867, Thomas Eakins wanted this painting to be different from his collection. During the 1860's, the method of Realism started to become increasingly popular. Realism is the method in which an artist uses accurate proportions and figures to directly capture a scene accurately. Using Realism, artists could show the terror and absurdity in America in great detail. This helps me learn about my topic because it shows how artists started painting not only for themselves, but for change.
This picture is a painting of a Native American. His name is Ihaka Whanga. Ihaka was the only survivor of a tribal raid that killed his parents and five brothers. Painted by Gottfried Lindauer in 1870, this painting teaches me about my topic by expressing detail and realism. The details on the face help me learn about the different cultures that existed with Native Americans. Not only that, but the detail put into this portrait shows how artists wanted to emphasize the culture aspects of these people. Art allowed others to see this.