Art Analysis
Meghan Leon
Professor El-Attiq Ali
2/16/15
HUM
Art Analysis Christina’s World is a painting set in 1948 by American painter Andrew Wyeth, and one of the best known paintings from the late 20th century. It illustrates a woman lying on the ground in a treeless, mostly orangey field, looking up at a gray house on the horizon with barns and small sheds across from the house. The young woman in the painting is Anna Christina Olson. It is said she suffered from polio (a muscular deterioration) that paralyzed her from the waist down. Wyeth had a summer home close to Christina’s and was inspired to draw the painting after he saw her crawling through the field of her home. The painting’s wasted limbs and pink dress belong to Christina Olson. The youthful head and torso belong to Betsy Wyeth (Andrew Wyeth’s wife) who was then in her mid-20s. Although Olson was the inspiration and subject of the painting, she was not the primary ideal. Once a sickly child himself, Andrew related to Christina on some hidden level. He contracted whooping cough at a young age which left him with bronchial problems that made him prone to colds in the long run. His parents took him out of school because of his health conditions and he later indicated that because of his homeschooling and illnesses, he was left alone a lot. Also, Andrew’s father, N.C Wyeth, had been killed at a railway crossing just three years before the painting was made. Andrew’s work underwent a significant change after the loss. His pallet became muted, his landscapes unproductive and his figures seemed mournful. Christina’s world embodies these traits, and conveys the impression that it is an outward expression of Wyeth’s inner grief from his life and occurrences. What strikes me first because it’s most off is the vastness of this field and why on earth this woman, sitting in the barren field, is there. The seemingly vulnerable position in this woman, alone, and not knowing what she’s doing there or if there is anyone
Professor El-Attiq Ali
2/16/15
HUM
Art Analysis Christina’s World is a painting set in 1948 by American painter Andrew Wyeth, and one of the best known paintings from the late 20th century. It illustrates a woman lying on the ground in a treeless, mostly orangey field, looking up at a gray house on the horizon with barns and small sheds across from the house. The young woman in the painting is Anna Christina Olson. It is said she suffered from polio (a muscular deterioration) that paralyzed her from the waist down. Wyeth had a summer home close to Christina’s and was inspired to draw the painting after he saw her crawling through the field of her home. The painting’s wasted limbs and pink dress belong to Christina Olson. The youthful head and torso belong to Betsy Wyeth (Andrew Wyeth’s wife) who was then in her mid-20s. Although Olson was the inspiration and subject of the painting, she was not the primary ideal. Once a sickly child himself, Andrew related to Christina on some hidden level. He contracted whooping cough at a young age which left him with bronchial problems that made him prone to colds in the long run. His parents took him out of school because of his health conditions and he later indicated that because of his homeschooling and illnesses, he was left alone a lot. Also, Andrew’s father, N.C Wyeth, had been killed at a railway crossing just three years before the painting was made. Andrew’s work underwent a significant change after the loss. His pallet became muted, his landscapes unproductive and his figures seemed mournful. Christina’s world embodies these traits, and conveys the impression that it is an outward expression of Wyeth’s inner grief from his life and occurrences. What strikes me first because it’s most off is the vastness of this field and why on earth this woman, sitting in the barren field, is there. The seemingly vulnerable position in this woman, alone, and not knowing what she’s doing there or if there is anyone