Comparison of Two Paintings: "The Family" (1941) and "The Family" (1975)

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Comparison Essay
In spite of the populist, "folksy" tone associated with Bearden's collages, his artistic work was often used to a formal and abstract sophistication. A lot of his artistic work probed into social issues, while others veered towards religious themes and still others explored the concepts of culture and ritual. Bearden was a candid artist who not intimidated by the prospect of addressing the exceptionality of African American familiarity; he clearly brought out the beauty of their culture and consistently majored on the themes associated with the African American. Through his artistic work, he aspired to spawn composite works that spoke to all levels of society on numerous concepts. The two images under study were spawned as the family institute evolved and the gender roles changed with the changing society. The mother figure is central in the family set up and is inevitably depicted in both cases. While the woman in image one is adorned with cosmetics and well tended hair in the urban setting the woman in image two wears a hut, as typically seen amongst the rural folks.
Image One
Image Two
In image one the artist probes into the life experiences of the African Americans living in the urban surroundings he makes use of constructed faces using cut-up pictures of African masks. As compared to image two in the rural setting where the artist depicts the African American family through textured collages and dissolution of space into block-like patches. Image two makes use of bright colors and expressionistic brushwork which helps the artist to bring out the development of the family concept from the olden days to modern times. In image one the objects are depicted as still and restful commanding the viewer to move around his eyes on the object and have a better view. In the first image, the artist makes use of blue, white, and maroon and olive green to bring out the cool feeling, the families consist of three members father, mother and a child. The blue attire by the father could allude to his working status while the woman is the wife and the caregiver looking after the family and nursing the young baby.
Image two typifies the subject matter that made him renowned: a work depicting an African American family preparing a meal. As compared to image one, in this image there is a sign of motion and the family members seem busy preparing a meal. This is rural setting; the woman and the man of the house work together to meet the household chores. Unlike image one, image two captures the rural black experience unlike the urban setting in image one. In image one the artist has added extra large hand on the right to demonstrate that the man is the shield and the provider in the family. Roman Bearden often exaggerated certain things to call attention to them; in this case he exaggerates the size of the hand of the father figure in the image, to illustrate the fact that the hand of the father provided for the family; this metaphor illustrates that during that time period the father's were supposed to provide for the family and the whole family relies on that hand for sustenance. Irrespective of the fact that image two has a rural background, it is well crafted with a universal, mythic quality that to transcend race and social class.
On image two, Bearden depicts four people, unlike image one, the artist includes an image of a cloaked naked woman, one of his preferred motifs, to the left, there is an image of a mysterious figure based on a long line of art past precedents. The image of that nude woman could be an allusion of the classical Venus an embodiment of woman beauty, she could also symbolize a Prostitute, a co...