Art's Impact On Society

Art reflects life. It is a portrait of history, whether it is history of the current moment or an event in the past or something of the imagination. Art has captured an event, clarifying its existence and representation to society. The portraits of the French Revolution by David, Benjamin West's portrayal of the death of General Wolfe and Poussin's recreation of the Rape of the Sabine Women all strive to provide a version of historical events. Society, in turn, can accept or reject these portrayals of true events.

Sometimes, as in the case of Goya's depiction of the French behavior during their conquest of Spain, art inspires a deep hatred of a certain nationality.Art encapsulate a country's culture during that time period. Rembrandt, Rousseau, Monet, Hogarth, Whistler, Jan Steen, Frans Hal and Breughel depict for their generation the world as they see it. They affect future society by providing concise, if sometimes imaginative, depictions of daily life. Brughel the Elder paints peasants, Jean Baptiste depicts lower-class life and Daumier's subjects in "The Third Class Carriage" are not the lofty work of Gainsborough. The wit and graphicness of Hogarth in "The Rake's Progress" or the imposing work of Thomas Eakins' "The Gross Clinic" provide historians with clues and pictures to a vastly different way of life.

Art has encouraged feelings of patriotism and national pride. Goya's, "The Third of May, 1808," the Americans portrayal of their revolution and countless other artists across the centuries have provided an impact extending beyond the work. Depictions of Washington crossing the Delaware, and portraits of battlefields, at home and abroad, are scenes that inspire society. These works also remind the public of their past, what has been sacrificed or accomplished and what they can aspire to in the present or future.

Artwork has allowed us to glimpse lives and lifestyles. At one time, dressmakers in the colonies used the artwork found in magazines and depicted in reproductions of paintings to create the latest in fashionable clothing. In the same manner, George Caleb Bingham with his painting "Fur Traders on the Mississippi" allowed Europeans a glimpse of another life. The art works by the Jewish artists trapped in the concentration camps of World War II preserve for all time the horrors of war and the inhumanity inflicted by one race upon another. Art has also been a medium to help spread a culture. Art of propaganda during war is a classic example. Posters urge people to support their troops. Marketing ploys ask consumers to buy locally or purchase a specific product.