American_gothic.pdf

The painting, by Grant Wood, was completed in 1930 and has become a classic of the American arts, a painting many people recognize at first glance. It has also entered popular and mainstream culture, through its many parodies and adaptations.

In the painting American Gothic, we can see a couple in the foreground. The man looks older than the woman, we can imagine he is either her father or her husband. They are dressed in conservative clothes. The man is wearing a white shirt, blue jeans overalls and a black jacket. It may seem like a strange mix, because he is wearing work clothes and a smart jacket at the same time. He is holding a pitchfork upright, in his right hand. He may just be back from the fields. The woman is wearing a black dress with a white collar and a black apron with small flowers. She is also wearing a medallion. They may be getting ready to go to church, the man finishing a last minute task before leaving, while the woman only needs to take her apron off. In the background, we can see their house: it is a white wooden house with pointed windows, in the gothic style; the painting gets its name from the house, nickamed "the gothic house".

The couple looks glum/sad/dejected/unhappy. We can maybe link their state of mind to the date of the painting, which was finished in 1930. Between 1929 and 1939, the Great Depression struck the United States, and more harshly rural areas. Many farmers lost their lands, as their farms were repossessed by the banks and they were sent on the roads. We can imagine this rural couple, in the early years of the Depression, worried about their possessions.