Look at these various portraits of American families. Pay attention to both what you see when you look at the paintings and how the artist who painted it interpreted the family. Consider the ways that these portraits reflect patriarchial values, gender relations, attitudes towards children, the democratization of society, and other historical changes that we have talked about in class.
For one thing, pay attention to the placement of people in the portraits.
- Are they placed in heirarchies by height or by sides of the portrait?
- Are they segregated by age or sex?
- How does each sitter relate to the others in the portrait?
Secondly, pay attention to the props that the sitters have with them.
- What would they signify about the person using them?
- Do they indicate something about their talents, skills, identities, and/or importance?
- How do their styles of dress change between portraits, and how does that reflect family relationships and social patterns?
- How do their hairstyles (and presence or absence of wigs) change over time?
Finally, notice the demeanor of the sitters.
- Are they serious, glum, or cheerful?
- Are family members touching each other?
- Which families touch each other and how?
- In these families, which family members touch each other and how?
- What can you determine about the affective (emotional) relationships depicted in these portraits between spouses, siblings, and families?