Lewis Art During The 19th Century

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Visual Culture Essay During the late 1700’s, history was written. Pilgrims revolted against their oppressing government and set forth on a journey to relocate and govern themselves with a new establishment and set of laws. Thus, the United States of America was established. Along with it came the constitution, the preamble, and the 10 amendments all promising the safety and rights of American citizens. However, those rights were not promised to women, Africans, and Native Americans. The 1800s was the century that rewrote history and broke through social norms. There was a civil war between northern regions of the United States and southern who seceeded and became the federal states. This was to protect and usage of slaves from Africa
that was in high demand. In result, the Southern States were again part of the United States and slavery was abolished. Throughout the 19th century art was very popular. Not only was art used for imagery but it was also used to tell stories and express emotions, especially amongst Africans and women. Edmonia Lewis was an American sculptor whose art is known for incorporating themes relating to black people, women and indigenous Americans. She is the first African-American woman to gain recognition for her art during the American Civil War. She is mostly famous for her bust of Abraham Lincoln that is located in the

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Martin Luther King Jr.
library 5th floor. Lewis’ art demonstrated the importance of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency during the 19th century. The important aspects of art is to make the spectator ponder and interpret. It challenges our ways of thinking. Art is supposed to make us wonder the meaning, how it makes one feel, what one sees, what stands out, how does what one see make he/she feel, what colors one sees. Lewis’ art demonstrated the importance of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency during the 19th century using form, technique and content. The form of the bust is unlike any original painting or sculpture. The life sized sculptor is about 2 feet tall and offers a 360 degree view that can be observed from all angles. It offers an all white color that is made of pure marble. The technique is utilizing hammer and chisel to break off the unwanted parts of the marble. Rasps and rifflers were then used to create the final form of the sculpture. Sandpaper was also heavily used using wavy strokes in order to acheive the smooth texture of Lincoln’s hair, cheekbones and
beard.
The content differs from the form. It focuses on meaning or what the artist intended. When one looks at the bust, the first thing that is observed is the size and the beauty of the sculpture. This also helps one answer the questions “what stands out to you?” and “how does what you see make you feel?”. Based on the smooth texture and the realistic human characteristics of the bust, what’s being depicted is that Edmonia Lewis put effort to make the sculpture as beautiful as possible. This demonstrates that Lewis pre-meditated the intention of honoring Lincoln prior to sculpting the art. Marzi 3
Having knowledge of historical content during the time the art was created allows interpretation to be more accurate.
Edmonia Lewis sculpted the bust in 1871. In 1865 the American Civil war ended, slavery was abolished, the Confederate States of America was re-instituted to the United States and President Lincoln was assassinated. Although President Lincoln was killed, he was favored by many blacks for opposing slavery. In 1863, during the third year of the civil war, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves that were in the seceded southern states.
When observing the sculpture in person and up close it puts one into an emotional state. There were varying emotions that were expressed from a personal perspective. For example, the texture and human characteristics a simple marble sculpture had was ‘shocking’. Aside from the marble itself, what I saw was an individual who rewrote history and is solely responsible for the diverse cultural interactions amongst groups
today.
Based on the historical context of the series of events and the creation of the bust shortly after, one can make the interpretation that the sculpture is a ‘thank you’ gift to President Lincoln on behalf of the blacks and slaves who were freed. African American art is one of the main branches of the foundation to why African American history remains rich with history to this very day. From the day Africans stepped foot into America until the end of the Jim Crow era, African Americans lived under the shade of white people. Everyday society was revolved around white people. Media, finances,

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