Rachel
As news of the discovery of the Americas and Indians reached Europe, curiosity filled the nation. What is this new land? Who are these new people? How can we learn more? In an answer to the many questions that arose, several voyages to the New World were arranged; the 1585 Roanoke expedition, led by Sir Richard Grenville, included John White, an artist who specialized in watercolor. To provide Europeans with the information they craved, White painted the landscapes and people of the New World, paying “close attention to the physical appearance and costumes of the people he encountered, as well as their architecture” (Pohl). In his painting, The Village of Secoton, White accurately depicts a village of the Algonquian in the Southern colonies: the rounded, barrel-shaped wooden structure of the houses (similar to the longhouse of the Iroquois except much smaller), a spiritual area in the lower left corner inscribed by White as “The place of solemn prayer” around a fire, and several well-tended fields.
In the lower right hand corner of White’s watercolor, a circle of Indians dance and appear to weave through the wooden poles. White reproduced this ceremony on a larger scale and entitled it Indians Dancing. While this image conveyed the free-spirited quality of the Indians, it also showcased their artistic activities.
Another one of his paintings titled Theire Sitting at meate features two Indians enjoying a meal. In a way, the unflattering representation of the Indians’ faces provides a truer image than earlier versions. The depiction of the two people gives the viewer a sense of understanding about the culture: the focus of the woman’s eyes shows her captivation by her food and the squatting posture of both Native Americans expresses their ease.
Not surprisingly, some artists disagreed with White’s portrayal of Indians, most notably Theodore de Bry. An engraver, de Bry altered many of White’s paintings, often to make the subjects more exciting and beautiful. His version of Theire Sitting at meate included elongating the legs and over-defining the muscles on both the man and woman; de Bry also drastically changed the expression and features of the woman so that she was more seductive and beautiful. The beauty of John White’s watercolors lived in his desire to record “as accurately as possible the physical characteristics, clothing, and customs of the Algonquians” (Pohl); in that purpose, White succeeded, for his paintings, although not as physically accurate, do convey the raw naturalism of the Native people.
Works Cited
Pohl, Frances K. Framing America: A Social History of American Art. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2002.
Images Cited
"Indian Village of Secoton." Virtual Jamestown. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.virtualjamestown.org/images/white_debry_html/white35.html>.
"Pawwaws and Pniesok." Study Guide Social Hierarchies. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://cdm.reed.edu/cdm4/indianconverts/studyguides/social_hierarchies/pawwaws%20_pniesok.php>.
"After Their Sitting at Meat." Corbis Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/AABR004076/engraving-by-theodor-de-bry-after-their>.
Feest, Christian F. "North Carolina Algonquians." Ancestry.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jmack/algonqin/feest2.htm>.
As news of the discovery of the Americas and Indians reached Europe, curiosity filled the nation. What is this new land? Who are these new people? How can we learn more? In an answer to the many questions that arose, several voyages to the New World were arranged; the 1585 Roanoke expedition, led by Sir Richard Grenville, included John White, an artist who specialized in watercolor. To provide Europeans with the information they craved, White painted the landscapes and people of the New World, paying “close attention to the physical appearance and costumes of the people he encountered, as well as their architecture” (Pohl). In his painting, The Village of Secoton, White accurately depicts a village of the Algonquian in the Southern colonies: the rounded, barrel-shaped wooden structure of the houses (similar to the longhouse of the Iroquois except much smaller), a spiritual area in the lower left corner inscribed by White as “The place of solemn prayer” around a fire, and several well-tended fields.
In the lower right hand corner of White’s watercolor, a circle of Indians dance and appear to weave through the wooden poles. White reproduced this ceremony on a larger scale and entitled it Indians Dancing. While this image conveyed the free-spirited quality of the Indians, it also showcased their artistic activities.
Another one of his paintings titled Theire Sitting at meate features two Indians enjoying a meal. In a way, the unflattering representation of the Indians’ faces provides a truer image than earlier versions. The depiction of the two people gives the viewer a sense of understanding about the culture: the focus of the woman’s eyes shows her captivation by her food and the squatting posture of both Native Americans expresses their ease.
Not surprisingly, some artists disagreed with White’s portrayal of Indians, most notably Theodore de Bry. An engraver, de Bry altered many of White’s paintings, often to make the subjects more exciting and beautiful. His version of Theire Sitting at meate included elongating the legs and over-defining the muscles on both the man and woman; de Bry also drastically changed the expression and features of the woman so that she was more seductive and beautiful. The beauty of John White’s watercolors lived in his desire to record “as accurately as possible the physical characteristics, clothing, and customs of the Algonquians” (Pohl); in that purpose, White succeeded, for his paintings, although not as physically accurate, do convey the raw naturalism of the Native people.
Works Cited
Pohl, Frances K. Framing America: A Social History of American Art. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2002.
Images Cited
"Indian Village of Secoton." Virtual Jamestown. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.virtualjamestown.org/images/white_debry_html/white35.html>.
"Pawwaws and Pniesok." Study Guide Social Hierarchies. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://cdm.reed.edu/cdm4/indianconverts/studyguides/social_hierarchies/pawwaws%20_pniesok.php>.
"After Their Sitting at Meat." Corbis Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/AABR004076/engraving-by-theodor-de-bry-after-their>.
Feest, Christian F. "North Carolina Algonquians." Ancestry.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jmack/algonqin/feest2.htm>.