"Our Banner in the Sky" Frederic Edwin Church, 1861Audience: This painting was created in response to the lowering of the American Flag at Fort Sumter. The Union began to look to the flag as an even greater symbol of freedom and unity, and this painting was one of many of its kind to promote patriotism. Thus, the audience consists of citizens and troops in support of the Union and its role of promoting freedom and unity.
Argument: This particular depiction of the flag is arguing that the American flag is representative of the Union, and that Union victory.
Enthymeme: WATCO the lowering of the flag at Fort Sumter on the unity of the North?
The lowering of the flag at Fort Sumter increases your patriotism and illuminates the Union’s victorious destiny over the South because the American Flag is a symbol of your responsibility to protect and defend the ideals of the Founding Fathers that are self-evident and divinely ordained.
How: The colors in the painting are warm, yet vivid. The colors are well blended, but the flag is still clearly distinguishable in the sky, and appears as though it is a part of the sky itself, and always has been. This reinforces the artist’s argument that the ideals that the Founding Fathers established are inherent within the ordained condition of human life.
The content and argument produced by this painting were appropriate for the time period and circumstances. The Civil War had just begun with the Battle at Fort Sumter, and both the Union and the Confederacy were rallying behind their contradicting causes for freedom and rights.
Was it effective? In 1861, this painting helped to promote patriotism and unity in the North. The primary contributor to its success is the element of relevancy. Had this painting been done before or after the Civil War, the resulting patriotism would have been to a much lesser degree, and had little consequence in society. The audience was extremely susceptible to the messages provided through this painting in the time that it was painted, and the painting simply helped to magnify the devout feelings and devotions of Union sentiments.
Argument: This particular depiction of the flag is arguing that the American flag is representative of the Union, and that Union victory.
Enthymeme: WATCO the lowering of the flag at Fort Sumter on the unity of the North?
The lowering of the flag at Fort Sumter increases your patriotism and illuminates the Union’s victorious destiny over the South because the American Flag is a symbol of your responsibility to protect and defend the ideals of the Founding Fathers that are self-evident and divinely ordained.
How: The colors in the painting are warm, yet vivid. The colors are well blended, but the flag is still clearly distinguishable in the sky, and appears as though it is a part of the sky itself, and always has been. This reinforces the artist’s argument that the ideals that the Founding Fathers established are inherent within the ordained condition of human life.
The content and argument produced by this painting were appropriate for the time period and circumstances. The Civil War had just begun with the Battle at Fort Sumter, and both the Union and the Confederacy were rallying behind their contradicting causes for freedom and rights.
Was it effective? In 1861, this painting helped to promote patriotism and unity in the North. The primary contributor to its success is the element of relevancy. Had this painting been done before or after the Civil War, the resulting patriotism would have been to a much lesser degree, and had little consequence in society. The audience was extremely susceptible to the messages provided through this painting in the time that it was painted, and the painting simply helped to magnify the devout feelings and devotions of Union sentiments.
No comments:
Post a Comment