The history of the Modern Art dates back in the 19th century and continued in the mid-20th century, a time marked by rapid industrialization and commercialization such that the old hierarchical order of the nobilities that originated way back in the Middle Ages collapsed and in turn the growth of the ‘bourgeoisie’ spearheaded the modernization by changing the society on the following aspects: philosophy, government, and culture. The changing societies and perceptions contributed to the increase for the demand in visual arts; in turn, these visual arts also evolved from religious to the highly secular themes that reflect the society. For instance, one of the effects of Modernism in painting was the change in iconography. The Harlem Renaissance that occurred in the United States was the result of the inner turmoil and century’s age oppression of the Black people from the Caucasians. One pioneer artists of the 20th century Modernism was Aaron Douglas and his famous painting titled, Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery Through Reconstruction (ca. 1934) done using oil on canvas was a remarkable painting that details the miserable life of the African-Americans during his time. The people on the painting were obviously African-Americans based on the pigments used on their skin. The painting shows the hard work they had to endure especially at work. The artist used implied lines to depict his subjects’s figure; pictorial space had been utilized as evidence of the farther objects appearing blurred with hues of moss green and yellow pigments. Chiaroscuro is vividly throughout the picture but unlike the chiaroscuro of the Baroque and Romantic artists, Douglas’ version contrasts the flamboyant and theatrical depictions of the subjects in a grand manner. But his painting emphasized the utilitarianism wherein the last traces of social divide whether it is race and class was subtly hidden or in some cases empowered like in this painting. The man on the center of the painting has a scale bigger than his compatriots. It was probably the artist’s own representation of encouraging his own people to fight back against the oppressions and him being the leader with his kinsmen. The Modernization of themes influenced a lot of African-American artists and later emerged victorious in portraying their race as empowering and thus, they gained support from the community that favors the equality of two classes. Arts are part of culture and civilization and almost all civilization on Earth had artistic talents that enabled them to create assimilation and cultural diaspora which became essential in the propagation of the cultures in other countries and regions. In this case, the Harlem culture spread throughout the 20th century and even gained international acclaim worldwide. Plurarism definitely influenced the changes in iconography and transitioned from restrictive religious images towards the new iconography liberated by the 20th century. (Getlein 499).
WORKS CITED
Getlein, Mark. Living With Art. 10th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. E-book.
