Activity # 13 Movements & Styles

The painting “Interior”, by Horace Pippin, 1944, oil on canvass creation and “Street on Mbari”, by Jacob Lawrence, 1964, tempura on woven paper, were created by similar influences. Both were created in the 19th century during the Harlem Renaissance movement, but had separate outcomes. Movement is described as a succession of styles in art (PP). In this era musicians, poets, and artist were trying to share their individual identity with the world by creating work of arts that people regardless of color could identify with. However, Pippin, style was more intimate than Lawrence’s canvass and shows family orientates by the characters and their individual places in the canvass. Style is a characteristic or number of characteristics that we can identify as constant, recurring, or coherent (Getlein, 34). However, it also expresses realism, by the symbols of poverty and the quality of life issues the canvass express. According to Getlein, Realism is any art in which the goal is to portray forms in the natural world in a highly faithful manner (508). The most amazing thing, I can best identify with is the naturalistic images that Pippin created, which is the same images in some of the homes of today. Naturalistic is the approach to portraying the visible world that emphasizes the objective observation and accurate imitation of appearances (Getlein, 29).

Jacob Lawrence created an amazing work of art during the Harlem Renaissance era, by using bold and empowering colors that expressed this characters richness and romanticism. Romanticism is the usage of intense colors, turbulent emotions, complex composition, soft outlines, and heroic or exotic subject matter (Getlein, 507). The style of work in this canvass was to show social interacting by their culture and the migration of people to one area to share common goods. Style is a characteristic or number of characteristics that we can identify as constant, recurring, or coherent (Getlein, 34). Although, paintings had different forms of characters, Lawrence expressed his by different shapes, sizes, and images while Pippin, had limited forms of expression. Forms the way a work of art looks (Getlein, 36). Because both artists were African Americans, they wanted to share their painting with the world to create a subject matter that would later become important to African Americans, but the entire world as well. Subject matter is the objects or events depicted (Getlein, 36). Many have said that history only repeats itself however, with both of the paintings, history has definitely repeated itself, but changed as well. Horace Pippin and Jacob Lawrence gave use clarity, insight, and understanding to what it was to live in their worlds, but we are giving the generation to come the same by sharing their legacy.