The United States has a strong image of being a civilized country of science and technology, and people tend to think that there is nothing worth seeing in arts such as paintings.Indeed, there may be few works in the United States that depict sunlight and shadows as finely as French Impressionist paintings.
However, it is possible to point out the existence of paintings unique to multi-ethnic nations.For example, several paintings called "National Paintings" depicting historical memories, which can be called the bonds of national unity, are hung in the Capitol.Let's introduce one of them.
The Baptism of Pocahontas (1840) [Collection of Congress]
John Gadsby Chapman (photograph courtesy Architect of the Capitol) - Architect of the Capitol, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1381128by
The story of Pocahontas, the daughter of an indigenous Indian, marrying an English colonist, John Rolfe, is widely known as a historical fact in the colony of Virginia, which was opened by Britain in the 17th century on the North American continent.Many of you may have seen her love story in Walt Disney's animated film Pocahontas.
What I introduced here is a painting depicting Pocahontas converting to Christianity prior to marriage.However, the sub-title of this painting, "Barbarians (Indigenous Indians) kneeling before civilization (Britain)," can no longer be said to represent the ideal of a multi-ethnic nation in the true sense of the word.The story that the indigenous Indians took the initiative in accepting European civilization is a myth created by the Europeans to convey their conquest of the North American continent as a beautiful story, and is not necessarily historical fact.Pocahontas' tribal companions are also drawn in the lower right of the screen.However, the scene depicted here is only a product of imagination.
Looking at the paintings that adorn public buildings in the United States, we can read the light and shadow of the values that this country has based its development on.We can see "light and shadow" different from when we appreciate paintings of European Impressionists.In American Area Studies, we carefully study the "lights and shadows" of such civilizations.
Faculty of International Communication Department of English Communication Professor Yasuo Endo
