Grant WoodStati Uniti, 1891–1942American Gothic
N. 10 tra i dipinti più famosi
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Art Institute of Chicago
Sala263Chicago, Stati Uniti
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About the painting
American Gothic, talvolta chiamato con la traduzione italiana Gotico americano, è un dipinto a olio del 1930, eseguito dall'artista statunitense Grant Wood. Raffigura un agricoltore che regge un forcone insieme a sua figlia davanti a una casa di legno in stile rurale "Carpenter Gothic". È una delle immagini più familiari dell'arte americana nel XX secolo, nonché un'icona universalmente riconosciuta.
Read on
Grant Wood voleva raffigurare i ruoli tradizionali dell'uomo e della donna nel Midwest, e molti interpretano il forcone che l'anziano regge come un simbolo del lavoro manuale. Wood affermava di essersi ispirato a fotografie americane del tardo XIX secolo e sistemò i suoi modelli in un modo che ricordava i primordi della ritrattistica americana. Grant Wood, che approfondì i suoi studi pittorici in Germania, sembra ispirarsi anche agli atteggiamenti ieratici dei personaggi della Pittura gotica nord-europea, specialmente tedesca e olandese, che mostrano spesso volti in contrizione, irati, preoccupati o doloranti.
In the museum's words
In American Gothic, Grant Wood directly evoked images of an earlier generation by featuring a farmer and his daughter posed stiffly and dressed as if they were, as the artist put it, “tintypes from my old family album.” They stand outside of their home, built in an 1880s style known as Carpenter Gothic. Wood had seen a similar farmhouse during a visit to Eldon, Iowa.
When it was exhibited at the Art Institute in 1930, the painting became an instant sensation, its ambiguity prompting viewers to speculate about the figures and their story. Many understood the work to be a satirical comment on midwesterners out of step with a modernizing world. Yet Wood intended it to convey a positive image of rural American values, offering a vision of reassurance at the beginning of the Great Depression.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Scheda
- Numero di inventario
- 1930.934
What it shows
In catalogo
Fonti
- Art Institute of Chicago: the museum's own open data · acquisita 6 giorni fa
- Immagine: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
Nel frattempo, nella vita di Grant Wood
Tutta la vita1922–1928
Four trips to Europe: the Impressionists and Van Eyck
Between 1922 and 1928 Wood made four trips to Europe, studying many styles of painting, especially Impressionism and Post-Impressionism; it was the 15th-century Flemish artist Jan van Eyck who influenced him most, giving him the clarity of technique that he brought into his new work.
1924–1935
“5 Turner Alley”: a studio in a carriage-house hayloft
From 1924 to 1935 Wood lived with his mother in the hayloft of a carriage house in Cedar Rapids that he had converted into his personal studio; it had no address until Wood made one up: “5 Turner Alley”.
1928
Munich: stained-glass windows for the Veterans Memorial
In 1928 Wood travelled to Munich to oversee the making of the stained-glass windows he had designed for the Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids.
1930
“American Gothic” in Chicago: a $300 prize
The painting was first exhibited in 1930 at the Art Institute of Chicago, where it still hangs; it won a $300 prize and made news stories nationwide, bringing Wood immediate recognition.
1930s
Helps Curry and Benton return to the Midwest
John Steuart Curry and Thomas Hart Benton, who with Wood are the artists most associated with Regionalism, returned to the Midwest thanks to his encouragement; he helped them find teaching positions at colleges, Curry in Wisconsin and Benton in Missouri.
1932
Helps found the Stone City Art Colony
In 1932 Wood helped found the Stone City Art Colony near his hometown to help artists get through the Great Depression.
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