As told in the Gospels of the New Testament, the life of Jesus began with his extraordinary yet humble birth in Bethlehem. Shepherds and three Magi (wise men from the East) visited the manger where Jesus was born to pay their respects. The Adoration of the Magi depicts the moment when the three wise men, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myhrr, kneel before the infant. The story of the Magi was particularly popular in
Florence, Italy, in the fifteenth century. The journey of the three wise men was often depicted in Florentine art and reenacted in Epiphany processions through the city.
In Renaissance Italy, religious images, from large altar-pieces for churches to small paintings for private devotion in homes, were the mainstay of artists’ workshops. At the time, not all common people could read. Stories from the Bible were reproduced in paintings filled with symbols that viewers could easily understand.
Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi, The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1440 / 1460, tempera on panel, National Gallery of Art, Samuel H. Kress Collection
“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.” Matthew 2:10 - 11
The Adoration of the Magi is one of the first examples of a tondo (Italian for “round painting”), a popular form for religious paintings in the 1400s. The figures, views of the distant city, and the landscape are all arranged to make the best use of the panel’s round shape. A joyful procession of more than a hundred people winds its way down a steep path from the upper right. The line of men and women wraps around the rocky outcropping and enters the city through the arched gateway.
Look closely to find:
Horses, a pheasant, an ox, camels, a dog, and a peacock: Which creature stands out from the crowd? Perched on the roof of the stable, the magnificent peacock was a symbol of immortality.
A bearded man in red: The Magi found their way to Bethlehem by following a bright star. Although the star is not shown in the painting, its presence is indicated by the bearded man on a black horse. He gazes toward the star in the sky and raises his arms in awe.
A pomegranate: Sitting on his mother’s lap, the infant Jesus raises his right hand to bless the Magi. In his left hand he holds a pomegranate. Its numerous seeds represent the many people who were brought together by the Christian Church.
Gold: Artists used precious gold leaf to draw attention to the most significant figures in the painting. Jesus, his mother Mary, and Joseph have gold halos. Golden embroidery on their rose, blue, and red robes as well as the glistening aura around their heads help to identify the Magi.
More than one artist painted The Adoration of the Magi. Although it is unsigned, scholars generally agree that it was created by two master artists in Florence: the Dominican friar Fra Angelico (c. 1395 – 1455) and the Carmelite monk Fra Filippo Lippi (c. 1406 – 1469). It is not known, however, how the two artists came to work on the same painting. The tondo was in the collection of the Medici, a wealthy family of art patrons in fifteenth-century Florence. Both Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi regularly created paintings for the powerful Medici family.
One idea is that the older artist, Fra Angelico, designed the composition and began the painting, but for some reason he was unable to complete the project. The painting was then turned over to Lippi to finish. It likely remained in the studio of one artist for several years, and assistants may have worked on it. Art historians who study the unique painting style of each artist believe Lippi painted the Magi, while Fra Angelico was responsible for the face of Mary.
Gold, one of the most precious metals, has been used by artists around the world. In Renaissance Italy, gold was incorporated into religious paintings to indicate a holy presence or figure and to symbolize the timeless realm of heaven.
Most Italian art created in the thirteenth through sixteenth centuries has a religious theme. It is important to remember that these works were not intended to be hung in a museum—instead, they were made for devotional purposes and decorated churches, private chapels, and homes. When the gold decoration was illuminated by candles, the effect was dazzling.
Painting on Panels
A wooden support, or panel, often of white poplar, lies below most paintings created in Italy in the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. The panel was covered with size (glue made from animal skin), which kept the paint from soaking into the wood. A bright white gesso (a plaster ground) was applied next. Artists painted with pigments (powdered color) mixed with water and egg, which resulted in bright colors.
For the gold areas of a painting, diluted bole (a reddish-brown clay) was brushed onto the gesso surface. This provided a cushion for the delicate gold leaf (pieces of gold hammered extremely thin). Gold leaf was carefully applied in small sections and then smoothed and polished with a burnisher (a tool with a tip of hard stone). This gave the gold a brilliant, shining surface that could then be tooled (punched with a metal stamp) to create designs and patterns.
Giotto, Madonna and Child, probably 1320 / 1330, tempera on panel, National Gallery of Art, Samuel H. Kress Collection
Made by the Florentine artist Giotto (c. 1266 – 1337), this painting was the central part of a multipaneled altarpiece. The background is gold leaf.
Materials and tools used in gilding, including pestle and mortar, knives, bole, and gold leaf (photo: Edward Woodman)
A Step 1: Gesso ground
B Step 2: Bole
C Step 3: Gold leaf, applied in layers
D Step 4: Gold leaf, smoothed with a burnisher
The knight in each of these paintings is Saint George, a Roman soldier who lived during the third century in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). According to a popular legend from the Middle Ages, Saint George rescued a princess and her town from a terrible dragon. The best-known account of this heroic tale was written in The Golden Legend, a medieval best seller from the year 1260. Its stories from the Bible and tales of the lives of saints inspired many artists. For early Christians, Saint George became a symbol of courage, valor, and selflessness.
According to The Golden Legend, the citizens of Silene, a city in Libya, were threatened by a fierce and terrible dragon. People saved themselves by feeding their sheep to the hungry monster. When their supply of animals started to run low, the frightened townspeople realized they would have to choose a person to sacrifice. Princess Cleodolinda was the unlucky one selected. Outside the city walls, she knelt and wept while she waited for the dragon. Just then, a brave and noble knight passed by and vowed to save her. George slew the dragon with a single thrust. The citizens of Silene were so inspired by this fearless act that they converted to Christianity.
This popular tale of good triumphing over evil was told to children to inspire them to lead virtuous lives.
Rogier van der Weyden, Saint George and the Dragon, c. 1432 / 1435, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
This painting is only 5 5/8 by 4 1/8 inches in size!
Saint George was a favorite subject of artists during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. These small paintings of Saint George, created in different parts of Europe, were made by two of the leading artists of their times: Rogier van der Weyden (c. 1399 / 1400 – 1464) in northern Europe, and Raffaello Sanzio, known as Raphael (1483 – 1520), in Italy. Despite their diminutive size, each painting is full of incredible details that were meant to be viewed closely.
Look carefully and compare:
Saint George: Both paintings show the most dramatic part of the story: when Saint George thrusts his lance at the ferocious dragon. Notice how each artist painted the light bouncing off George’s brilliant suit of armor. Examine the expression on his face.
Horse: George rides a white horse in both paintings. Its movement, with its mouth open and tongue out, adds to the energy of the scene.
Dragon: Both artists created a frightening version of this mythological creature near its rocky cave.
Princess Cleodolinda: Each artist shows the princess kneeling in prayer and dressed in the current fashion of his own era. Rogier’s Cleodolinda wears a rich gold and blue brocade dress and an elaborate headdress. Raphael’s princess is dressed in red with a thin golden halo.
Landscape: Each artist set the story in a landscape that resembled his own country. Rogier’s painting shows a view over rolling hills toward a walled city surrounded by water and dominated by a castle perched atop a fantastic mountain. Raphael’s tall trees and rocky hills direct attention to the towers of a city in the distance.
What other similarities can you find between the two paintings? What are their differences?
Raphael, Saint George and the Dragon, c. 1506, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Andrew W. Mellon Collection
This painting is about the size of a piece of notebook paper.
How did these artists create such tiny and highly detailed paintings on wood panels? Both Rogier and Raphael skillfully used oil paints, an invention that changed the history of art.
Early artists had used egg tempera paint. Its powdered pigments—made by grinding colored earth, minerals, and even the shell of certain insects—were blended with egg yolks. Tempera was durable and dried quickly, but it was also thick and could be difficult to mix with other colors. In the early 1400s artists in northern Europe developed a revolutionary way to handle oil paint, which was made by blending pigments with slow-drying linseed or walnut oil. Intricate effects, such as the shine of Saint George’s armor, could be achieved using the medium. Artists could build up thin layers of opaque and transparent paint that reflected light, and they could subtly blend wet paint to produce a wide range of new color possibilities.
“George, a native of Cappadocia … once traveled to the city of Silena …Near this town there was a pond as large as a lake where a plague-bearing dragon lurked; and many times the dragon had put the populace to flight when they came out armed against him, for he used to come up to the city walls and poison everyone who came within reach of his breath.” Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend, 1260
Dragons appear in stories from ancient times through to the present day. Sometimes they symbolize evil, as in the story of Saint George, but in China and other countries, dragons are emblems of good luck.
Bestiaries—illustrated books that describe real and legendary animals—were popular references in the Middle Ages.
Artists created these mythological creatures from their imaginations. Sometimes they combined features of several animals. What kinds of animals might have inspired Rogier and Raphael in painting their dragons?
Invent a dragon or imaginary creature
Decide: Will the beast be friendly or dangerous, lucky or evil? Does your creature have any special powers?
Think about: What animals will you combine? Imagine a head of a ____, body of a ____, the claws of a _____, wings of a _________, and tail of a ________
Sketch out possible ideas and combinations.
Transform your idea into a three-dimensional action figure or puppet by using a combination of art materials (clay, papier-mâché, paint) and found objects (pipe cleaners, egg cartons, cardboard rolls and boxes, paper).
Create a story about your creature. Where did it come from? Where does it live and what does it eat? Who does it meet? Is it the hero or the villain of your story?
Suffrage to Saint George. Playfair Book of Hours. Ms.L.475 – 1918, fol. 174V. French (Rouen), late 15th c. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Great Britain. Photo credit: V&A Images, London/Art Resource, NY
Flemish artist Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640) had a prolific career painting religious and mythological stories, church altarpieces, palace decorations, royal portraits, and intimate family scenes. Not only was he one of the most acclaimed painters of his time, but he was also a scholar, teacher, linguist (he knew seven languages), collector of antiquities, and diplomat.
Rubens traveled from his home in Antwerp to study in Italy from 1600 to 1609. There he was inspired by classical sculpture, the paintings of Raphael and Michelangelo, and Caravaggio’s dramatic works that contrast light and shadow. Rubens returned to Antwerp, where his artistic talents were quickly recognized and his popularity grew. Rubens was appointed court painter to Archduke Albert and his wife, Isabella. He established a large workshop with apprentices and assistants to help him complete his numerous commissions.
Paralleling Rubens’ unrivaled artistic career was his increased involvement in politics and diplomatic missions. While traveling for royal commissions, Rubens served as a cultural envoy and helped negotiate treaties. Among his many noble patrons was King Charles I of England, who knighted Rubens for his work as a peace mediator between Spain and England.
Daniel in the Lions’ Den, once owned by Charles I, shows how Rubens masterfully combined realism and theatricality to produce a strong emotional impact.
Peter Paul Rubens. Self-portrait with hat (detail), 1623 – 1625, oil on wood, Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Photo credit: Scala / Art Resource, NY
The story of the Hebrew prophet Daniel comes from the Old Testament. Daniel aroused the envy of the other royal ministers when he became the chief counselor to the Persian king Darius. These jealous men tricked the king into ordering Daniel’s death. They passed a law that said people could pray only to the king and not to any god. When it was discovered that Daniel kept praying to God as he always had, he was condemned to spend the night in the den of ferocious, hungry lions. In the morning, King Darius rushed out to see what had happened. Miraculously, Daniel had survived the night unharmed!
Rubens shows the scene inside the lions’ den. Surrounded by the dangerous beasts, Daniel prays and looks toward heaven with gratitude. Bones on the ground are a grim reminder of what could have happened. Daniel became a symbol of justice, and his story demonstrated the importance of faith.
Peter Paul Rubens, Daniel in the Lions’ Den, c. 1614 / 1616, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
This painting is over 7 by 10 feet in size!
A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the Den…At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice…. Daniel answered, “May the King live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me.” Daniel 6:17 - 22
“Daniel among many lions, taken from life. Original, entirely by my hand.” Peter Paul Rubens
Snarling, pacing, sleeping, yawning, and staring: the ten lions in this painting look frightening and amazingly real. How did Rubens manage to paint these animals in such a lifelike way? He studied lions in the royal menagerie of Brussels and in the zoo of Ghent. He made detailed drawings of the animals’ movements, expressions, and behaviors.
His use of light, color, space, and scale emphasizes the physical and emotional drama of the scene. By painting the lions nearly life-size, Rubens makes it feel as if we are in the den with Daniel. Morning light streams into the dark cave through an opening, illuminating Daniel’s gestures, sculpted muscles, and anguished expression. His red and white robes stand out against the brown tones of the lions’ den. Rubens even added blood red paint around the mouths of some lions for a terrifying effect!
Peter Paul Rubens, Lion, c. 1612 – 1613, black chalk, heightened with white, yellow chalk in the background, National Gallery of Art, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
The Fall of Phaeton by Rubens is another example of the artist’s exceptional ability for dramatic storytelling. The myth, recounted by the Roman poet Ovid, describes Phaeton’s doomed journey across the sky.
The Tragedy of Phaeton
According to classical mythology, the Roman god Phoebus Apollo (called Helios by the Greeks) drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day, thus giving the earth its hours and seasons. His son, Phaeton, was a mortal. When the boy was teased because he claimed his father was a god, Phaeton asked Phoebus Apollo to prove he was his parent. In response, Phoebus Apollo promised Phaeton anything he wanted. Phaeton impulsively demanded to drive his father’s chariot for one day. Although Phoebus Apollo knew the boy couldn’t control the horses, he felt he could not deny his son’s request and handed over the reins.
The chariot ran wild, scorching everything in its path with the sun’s heat. To prevent the earth’s destruction, Jupiter, the king of the gods, intervened. He hurled a thunderbolt at the chariot and sent it in a fiery plunge to earth.
Peter Paul Rubens, The Fall of Phaeton, c. 1604 / 1605, probably reworked c. 1606 / 1608, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Patrons’ Permanent Fund
Rubens’ Dramatic Style
Rubens created this painting while he was studying in Italy. An inventive artist, he chose to depict the story at the height of its action, when the thunderbolt streaks in from the right and Phaeton plummets to the earth. The artist included figures with butterfly wings to symbolize the hours and the seasons; they gesture in horror as the pattern of night and day is disrupted. He also conveys the chaos that occurred when Phaeton lost control of the chariot. Everything in his dynamic composition is in motion — figures twist and tumble, and horses rear. The strong contrast between light and dark further intensifies the drama.
Rubens often chose to show the climax, or most dramatic moment, of a story.
Choose a story that interests you and make a drawing showing the most climatic moment.
With a splitting crack of thunder he lifted a bolt,
Poised it by his ear,
Then drove the barbed flash point-blank into Phaeton.
The explosion
Snuffed the ball of flame
As it blew the chariot to fragments. Phaeton
Went spinning out of his life.
The crazed horses scattered.
They tore free, with scraps of the yoke,
Trailing their broken reins.
The wreckage fell through space,
Shattered wheels gyrating apart,
Shards of the car, the stripped axle,
Bits of harness — all in slow motion
Sprinkled through emptiness.
Phaeton, hair ablaze,
A fiery speck, lengthening a vapour trail,
Plunged toward earth
Like a star
Falling and burning out on a clear night.
— excerpt from Ted Hughes’ Tales from Ovid
“The Monster was already too near him for the youth to be timely apprized of his danger; and the sailors had the afflicting sight of seeing him seized and precipitated down the flood with his voracious assailant, before they could put off to attempt his deliverance. They however hastened towards the place…” From the inscription on the painting’s original frame
Watson and the Shark depicts a real event that took place in the harbor at Havana, Cuba, in 1749. Brook Watson was a fourteen-year-old orphan who worked on a trading ship. One day he went swimming in the warm waters of the harbor and was attacked by a shark. As his shipmates rushed to his rescue, the shark circled around again, pulling Watson underwater and biting off his right foot.
John Singleton Copley, Watson and the Shark, 1778, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Ferdinand Lammot Belin Fund
This painting was a huge success and launched Copley’s career in England. The artist painted a full-scale replica for himself. It is now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Thanks to the sailors’ quick actions, Watson lived to tell his story. It took him three months to recover. His leg was amputated below the knee, and he was fitted with a wooden leg that he wore for the rest of his long life. He later moved to England, where he became a successful politician and businessman. Almost thirty years after the attack, Watson hired artist John Singleton Copley (1738 – 1815) to record his amazing rescue story for history. Years later, he gave the painting to a boys’ school, hoping his bravery might inspire others to overcome life’s challenges. It also served as a lesson about the risks of foolish behavior.
John Singleton Copley, The Copley Family, 1776/1777, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Andrew W. Mellon Fund
One of the most talented artists in colonial America, Copley moved from Boston in 1775, on the eve of the American Revolution, and settled with his family in London, England. He had never been to Cuba. To create an accurate background view of the harbor’s buildings and ships, he studied maps and prints of Havana. Copley had never seen a tiger shark either. Notice the shark’s oddly shaped nostrils, strange lips, and ear. It might not be accurate, but it’s still a scary-looking shark!
Copley focused on the moment right before Watson was rescued. The boy’s fate is still uncertain. He struggles in the water as the terrifying shark comes back, opening its powerful jaws to attack once more. Watson’s mouth and eyes are wide open in fear. The shark is just inches away. He reaches his hand up toward his rescuers. Will he make it?
Copley packed nine men into the small rescue boat. Four sailors pull their oars to maneuver closer to Watson. Two young seamen lean over the gunwale, straining to reach the frightened boy, while their bald-headed mate grabs onto a shirt. One standing sailor throws out a rope, and another thrusts his harpoon at the shark.
Look closely at the faces and gestures of the sailors
How do you think each one feels? The range of expressions heightens the tension and reality of the moment.
Action-Adventure-Imagination
The painting Watson and the Shark recounts a real-life event, but French artist Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714 – 1789), like many artists, made up a dramatic scene. This vivid painting of a shipwreck is a lot like an action-adventure movie. It’s an imaginary story, created to thrill, frighten, and delight viewers. Think about creating a sound track to go along with this picture. What sounds would enhance the horror of this tragic shipwreck?
Vernet specialized in painting stormy seascapes. What artistic choices add to the drama of the scene? Illuminated by a yellow zigzag of lightning, the dark sky is painted a menacing gray with touches of purples and blues. The foamy waves of the green sea crash against the rocky shore. The ship’s flag whips in the howling wind, its sails torn to shreds, its mast tilting at a dangerous angle. A tree on the cliff has been splintered. Only the castle in the distance stands strong. Everyone works frantically to secure the ship, save its supplies, and rescue the survivors. Their poses express fear, exhaustion, and relief. Through this physical and emotional struggle, Vernet shows the overwhelming power of nature. What do you think will happen next? Will the ship in the distance avoid the storm, or will it suffer the same fate?
Some paintings are meant to make you feel happy or peaceful, while others are designed to worry or scare you. Vernet created paintings that did both. Although the shipwreck is imaginary, he described the horrible experience in a way that stirs emotions.
Suspenseful Stories
Create your own scary adventure inspired by the following prompts:
It was a dark and stormy night …
Suddenly the lights went out and …
It started out small but then …
The creaking door opened ever so slowly …
Or start your own!
Claude-Joseph Vernet, The Shipwreck, 1772, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Chester Dale Fund
The most famous landscape and maritime painter in eighteenth-century France, Vernet was admired for his ability to combine the spectacular effects of weather with detailed, lively figures.
This life-size sculpture commemorates members of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, one of the first African American units to serve in the Civil War. A thousand African American men from across the country volunteered to join this regiment and fight for the Union. The American Civil War, which raged from 1861 to 1865, was a conflict between the North (Union) and South (Confederacy) of the United States. One of the central issues over which the two sides fought was slavery.
Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the leader of the 54th Regiment, rides gallantly on horseback alongside his men. He was a young white man from a family in Boston that strongly opposed slavery.
This powerful sculpture shows Colonel Shaw and his regiment as they marched off on May 28, 1863, to fight in the Civil War. A large crowd gathered in downtown Boston to send them off. Among the black soldiers marching that day were Frederick Douglass’s two sons, Lewis and Charles; James Caldwell, the grandson of Sojourner Truth; and William Caleney, who would become the first African American to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, 1900, patinated plaster, on loan from U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, New Hampshire
In July 1863, the 54th Regiment led an attack against Fort Wagner, a fortress protecting the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, deep in Confederate territory. Almost half of the soldiers who stormed the fort were killed, captured, or later died of their wounds, including Colonel Shaw.
The bravery and determination of the 54th Regiment earned great respect for black soldiers and inspired widespread enlistment of African Americans into the Union forces. By the end of the Civil War, nearly 180,000 black soldiers had fought for the Union. Their contributions and sacrifices, President Abraham Lincoln later said, gave the Union the advantage to win. In 1865 the South surrendered, and the United States remained one nation.
Colonel Robert G. Shaw / Whipple (detail), 96 Washington Street, Boston. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, DC
Right in the van,
On the red rampart’s slippery swell, With heart that beat a charge, he fell
Forward, as fits a man;
But the high soul burns on to light men’s feet Where death for noble ends makes dying sweet. “Memoriam Positum,” John Russell Lowell, 1863, inscribed on the memorial
A relief is a type of sculpture that is raised from a flat surface rather than being sculpted “in the round.” Coins and medals are examples of low relief, with images on them raised slightly from the surface. The Shaw Memorial was done in high relief, with the images projecting far from the surface. You can almost see all the way around Colonel Shaw and his horse.
The sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848 – 1907) used a photograph of Colonel Shaw to show his facial features and uniform accurately. He wanted the monument to be as realistic as possible, and he even brought a horse into his studio to work from a live model.
Each soldier is unique. Some of the soldiers in the 54th Regiment were as young as sixteen years old. Others were fathers enlisting with their sons. To give each man a sense of individuality, Saint-Gaudens hired several African Americans to pose for him.
How might these men have felt about fighting in the Civil War?
During the Civil War, many soldiers kept journals and sketchbooks as a way to record their memories of friends, daily life, new places, and military actions. These important documents of history not only help us understand what their experiences were like, but they also provide significant details about the time.
Civil War soldier Corporal J. E. Shadek, a member of Company A of the 8th Connecticut Volunteers, filled a small journal with ninety-three drawings — sketches of battlefields, encampments, soldiers’ daily activities, and other events during his years as a soldier in the Union Army’s Burnside Expedition in 1861 and 1862.
Keep a visual journal
Try to carry a sketchbook with you one day a week and stop to record a person, place, activity, or event that you observe — in your home, neighborhood, school, or on a trip. It might be an everyday occurrence or something unique that you notice. It might be a quick five-minute sketch or a longer drawing. Write the date at the bottom of each sketch. If you wish, paste photographs into the sketchbook alongside your drawings. At the end of twelve months, you’ll have a visual diary recording your memories of the year.
Soldiers entertaining themselves around an evening camp-fire, Annapolis, Maryland 1861
Sunset painted while camped at Bogues Banks, North Carolina
Troops marching in Washington, DC, September 5, 1862
J. E. Shadek, J. E. Shadek Sketchbook, 1861 / 1862, bound volume with 93 drawings in mixed media on wove paper, National Gallery of Art, Gift of Mrs. Halleck Lefferts
Jacob Lawrence (1917 – 2000) was inspired to paint the everyday life he saw around him as well as to tell epic stories of American history.
Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Lawrence and his family moved to Harlem in New York City in 1930, when he was thirteen years old. Despite the poverty of the Great Depression, African American intellectual and artistic life was flourishing in Harlem, and Lawrence became interested in the arts while he was still a teenager. He began painting in after-school art classes at the Harlem Art Workshops, where he learned about the styles of Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and African art. Charles Alston, Augusta Savage, and other prominent artists in the community who were impressed by his talent and creative vision encouraged Lawrence to pursue art as a career. He enjoyed visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he was particularly drawn to Renaissance art and to scenes painted by Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. By combining these influences, Lawrence developed a style that was both figural and abstract.
Interested in the history, accomplishments, and struggles of black people, Lawrence often painted in series as a way to tell a story. He gained fame for his powerful narratives of the lives of such historic figures as Toussaint L’Ouverture, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and John Brown. He described the journey of those who made the great African American migration from the rural South to cities in the North in search of a better life, while his later works document events during World War II and the Civil Rights Movement. The paintings of Jacob Lawrence express his lifelong concern for human dignity and freedom, and his own social consciousness.
Jacob Lawrence (detail), c. 1950s (photo: Sid Bernstein), Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Born a slave on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Harriet Tubman escaped to freedom and ultimately made her way to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the 1850s and 1860s, she courageously returned to the South nineteen times, helping more than three hundred slaves escape to freedom in Canada.
Traveling under the cover of night, Tubman used the North Star as a guide and followed the Underground Railroad, a network of people that helped slaves escape to freedom. By day, the slaves hid secretly in houses along the route. Risking her life to liberate others, Tubman demonstrated strength, courage, tenacity, and self-sacrifice. She worked as a nurse during the Civil War and later as an advocate for the rights of African Americans and women.
In 1939 and 1940 Lawrence created a series of thirty-one panels that describe moments in Tubman’s life. He revisited the subject in 1967, when he wrote and illustrated the children’s book Harriet and the Promised Land and created independent paintings such as Daybreak—A Time to Rest.
Portrait of Harriet Tubman (detail), 1880. Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, DC
“The struggle of the American people is a really beautiful thing. It’s a symbol of what can be achieved.” Jacob Lawrence
“When the subjects are strong, I believe simplicity is the best way of treating them.” Jacob Lawrence
In Daybreak — A Time to Rest, Lawrence conveys Harriet Tubman’s bravery and her role as a protector with his dramatic style of vivid colors, flattened shapes, and simplified forms.
Near the center of the composition Tubman’s face turns upward to the sky, and her body is surrounded by purple and pink cloaks. The night sky came to symbolize Tubman, as Frederick Douglass later described in a letter he wrote to her: “The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witnesses of your devotion to freedom and of your heroism.” Lying on the hard ground, she holds a rifle at the ready for protection. The exaggerated perspective, which makes her feet look enormous, emphasizes the arduous journeys she made. Forming a crescent above Tubman’s head, a man, woman, and baby huddle together closely, resting. Three insects — a walking stick, beetle, and ant — crawl on the large green leaves in the foreground and signal activity at daybreak.
Jacob Lawrence, Daybreak—A Time to Rest, 1967, tempera on hardboard, National Gallery of Art, Anonymous Gift
“The Human subject is the most important thing. My work is abstract in the sense of having been designed and composed, but it is not abstract in the sense of having no human content…I want to communicate. I want the idea to strike right away.” Jacob Lawrence
“I became so excited then by all the new visual forms I found in Nigeria — unusual color combinations, textures, shapes, and the dramatic effect of light — that I felt an overwhelming desire to come back as soon as possible to steep myself in Nigerian culture so that my paintings, if I’m fortunate, might show the influence of the great African artistic tradition.” Jacob Lawrence
Lawrence traveled to Nigeria in 1962 on an invitation to teach and exhibit his work. Two years later he returned for an eight-month stay and painted aspects of everyday life, including Street to Mbari.
Here, he captures the hustle and bustle of a busy outdoor market. Shops and vendors line the street far into the distance. People young and old buy and sell produce and rolls of boldly patterned fabrics, while women balance wares on their heads. It is easy to imagine the sounds of this crowded market — people chatting, babies crying, goats bleating, chickens squawking, flies buzzing, carts rolling — and to feel the energy of the scene.
Throughout his career, Lawrence preferred to paint with vivid opaque water-based paints (tempera or gouache) on board or paper. He carefully planned his composition by making a line drawing first, and then he filled in each area, one color at a time. The thin white lines that define and give character to eyes, ears, nostrils, fingernails, and toenails are white paper left unpainted. Repeating colors and shapes emphasize the energy and movement of the scene. The colors of the patterned fabrics and clothing mirror the colors on the ground and in the sky. Stripes of brown-colored paint, giving the appearance of corrugated iron roofs, create a visual rhythm across the top of the painting and lead the eye into the distance.
Look
Observe the colors, shapes, and lines in detail.
Colors: What colors do you see? Describe them.
Shapes: What kinds of shapes do you see? Describe them.
Lines: What kinds of lines do you see? Describe them.
Jacob Lawrence, Street to Mbari, 1964, tempera over graphite on wove paper, National Gallery of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James T. Dyke
Discuss
Choose a color, shape, or line that you noticed. Consider these questions:
Reflect
What new ideas do you have about the artwork?