The Genius Of America

Title

The Genius Of America

Artist

Eric Glaser

Medium

Painting - Oil On Canvas

Description

"The Genius of America"

Artist: Adolphe Yvon (French, 1817-1893)

Title: The Genius of America

Object Type: Painting

Date: 1870

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Dimensions: 29.5 x 18 feet (8,99 m x 5,49 m)

Collection: New York State Education Building, Albany NY USA

Notes: this monumental version is the second version, the smaller one in the St. Louis Art Museum is the original

Description:

The 1870 allegorical mural, The Genius of America, was installed in Chancellors Hall of the New York State Education building in 1953. Measuring 29.5 feet-by-18 feet, the historical painting is a panorama of symbolic figures and objects that reflects sentiments and ideals about the United States at the turn of the 19th Century.

Also:

Adolphe Yvon depicts a symbolic procession celebrating the glory of the United States. In the center, the lady Republic, in white, and the Roman goddess Minerva, robed in white and green, stand on a chariot drawn by lions. In front of the chariot are women who represent several states including New York, Illinois, and Virginia. To the left are European immigrants arriving in America while, to the right, an uplifted African American suggests the artist’s hopes for the abolition of slavery. Native Americans, in the right background, observe the procession. Yvon was a noted official painter who taught in the French Academy for approximately twenty years. This work represents a superior example of the traditional, highly detailed academic style. His depiction of this scene reflects the sensibilities of his time. Yvon’s idealized images contrast with the reality which faced many African Americans and Native Americans in 19th-century America.

Text Credit: Wikimedia, St. Louis Art Museum

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Additional image editing by Eric Glaser

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June 20th, 2020

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