There is a painting that I first saw many years ago—decades ago—and have seen several times since. It is called Christina's World and was painted by the artist Andrew Wyeth in 1948. It is probably his most famous painting.
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| "Christina's World" by Andrew Wyeth (click for larger version) |
I can recall thinking, when I first saw it, that the painting must have come from Wyeth's imagination. But I later learned that was not so.
The woman in the painting was a real person named Anna Christina Olson. In the painting we have the impression that we see a young woman, but Christina was 55 when she was painted. Her home was near Wyeth's summer home in coastal Maine and Wyeth knew the Olson family. Christina suffered from a degenerative muscular disorder which left her unable to walk since she was about 30 years old. (Wyeth also used his wife as a model while making the painting.) Christina refused to use a wheelchair and crawled wherever she wanted to go.
To me, the painting is mildly depressing. The sky is gray and somber, the buildings are unpainted and weather-worn, and even the grass is more gray-brown than green. The flat, dull landscape and the few buildings on the horizon are the totality of Christina's world. I feel that she is trapped. She is trapped in a body that doesn't work as it should, and that, in turn, traps her in a landscape that is utterly stale and tedious. She is condemned to live an unfulfilled life.
The painting is referenced in many ways in our popular culture. One example: in Arthur C. Clarke's novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Christina's World is one of the two paintings (the other one being Vincent van Gogh's Bridge at Arles) hanging on the living room wall of a hotel suite to which the astronaut David Bowman is transported after passing through the Star Gate. (The painting does not appear in Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of the novel.)
If you want to see the actual painting, you'll have to visit the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. They own the painting. It is part of their permanent collection.
2 comments:
Wow! I never imagine that you could go so far writing about this painting. I have seen it full color and I only know that Christina was born in Maine, USA and she passed away at the age of 74 years old, she suffered a brain hemorrhage. She had a very difficult life. Her painting was bought by the director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for $1,800 in 1948.
I am amazed of the talent and the way how you search and investigate before you write your blogs. Congratulations and I loved it because it completed my understanding about her. God gave you so many skills and I like the way how you use them.
TA
Greetings
Thank you for the artistic piece -- I had never seen the picture and of course did not know the story. Awesome writing and descriptions -- you haven't lost your ability or craft one bit. I enjoyed the artwork very much and could see the details you pointed out.
Love it.
LL
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