Art History
ELVIRA SUKAMTOH
SARA COTTER
ART HIST 110
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15 MARCH 2013
The two paintings that appeal to me the most are the genre-painting, In Grandmother’s Time by Thomas Eakins (1876) and Tattered and Torn by Alfred Kappes (1886). The main subjects for the two paintings are the woman at the center of the composition. Through the differences in color, light, and the objects in the composition, these two paintings express two different stories. These paintings depict the daily life scenes of two contrasting classes. Eakins illustrates a scene of an elderly maid of a high class family concentrating deeply in sewing, whereas Kappes illustrates a scene of a poor elderly woman holding a lit match to light up her pipe.
Judging from the era that the paintings were made, both In Grandmother's Time and Tattered and Torn are a part of the Realism period in the United States. Thomas Eakins has been known as one of the most influential artist for realism in American art. He was known for his genre painting and his charisma as a teacher. Likewise, Alfred Kappes was renowned as a genre painter portraying the life of African-American in the nineteenth century. He was also assigned as one of the members of the National Academy of Design. The elderly woman from Thomas Eakins’ In Grandmother’s Time is seated on a chair at the center of the composition, wearing an old dress and an old mobcap which indicates she may have been a maid or babysitter. Her seemingly old dress and mobcap may suggest how long she has been working. The children toys behind her can proof that she is someone that has experiences or interactions with children. Eakins also places his subject in the middle of a dark room with a wooden pinwheel. We can see that she is currently sewing by the gesture of her hands. The blurry wheel shows the speed of her treading. On the other hand, the elderly woman from Alfred Kappes’ Tattered and Torn seems to be wearing old and torn
SARA COTTER
ART HIST 110
-------------------------------------------------
15 MARCH 2013
The two paintings that appeal to me the most are the genre-painting, In Grandmother’s Time by Thomas Eakins (1876) and Tattered and Torn by Alfred Kappes (1886). The main subjects for the two paintings are the woman at the center of the composition. Through the differences in color, light, and the objects in the composition, these two paintings express two different stories. These paintings depict the daily life scenes of two contrasting classes. Eakins illustrates a scene of an elderly maid of a high class family concentrating deeply in sewing, whereas Kappes illustrates a scene of a poor elderly woman holding a lit match to light up her pipe.
Judging from the era that the paintings were made, both In Grandmother's Time and Tattered and Torn are a part of the Realism period in the United States. Thomas Eakins has been known as one of the most influential artist for realism in American art. He was known for his genre painting and his charisma as a teacher. Likewise, Alfred Kappes was renowned as a genre painter portraying the life of African-American in the nineteenth century. He was also assigned as one of the members of the National Academy of Design. The elderly woman from Thomas Eakins’ In Grandmother’s Time is seated on a chair at the center of the composition, wearing an old dress and an old mobcap which indicates she may have been a maid or babysitter. Her seemingly old dress and mobcap may suggest how long she has been working. The children toys behind her can proof that she is someone that has experiences or interactions with children. Eakins also places his subject in the middle of a dark room with a wooden pinwheel. We can see that she is currently sewing by the gesture of her hands. The blurry wheel shows the speed of her treading. On the other hand, the elderly woman from Alfred Kappes’ Tattered and Torn seems to be wearing old and torn