The River Louis Guglielmi Essay

The artist Guglielmi was an American citizen who was born in Egypt. His dad was a violinist and his family had to move to America because his dad got a job in America. After they moved they had hard time in America. In the painting The River, three women are leaning against a metallic rail facing a vast expanse of a river (Baigell 234). Next to them is another lady with a child on the front part of the painting. The economic pangs climaxed with the onset of world war II which started in 1939 and lasted for six years up to 1945 (Stoler 159). Through his art, he paints his political overtones which are easily decipherable through the psychological exploration of the subjects found on pictures.

During this world war II, America went into the war unprepared. A lot of lives and property were lost with statistics roughly approximated at not less $350 billion worth of property and 300,000 men. The young men, both fathers and sons in families were forced to go into battle fields to protect the nation at all costs. The viewers can see eight women all standing around the river bank in the painting. The three of them standing in the foreground are concealed from the viewer and they all look they are in different ages. The overall hue of this painting is cool, such as blue. The industrial landscape at the background is so pivotal in the history of 1930s. Under president Hoover’s administration, the economy was doing badly- around 15000 banks literary closed down with hundreds of thousands of businesses packing for home (Edelman 300).

Hitherto, women had never served as Army Corps with full military status. Things were happening pretty fast than one could imagine. It was the first lady Eleanor Roosevelt who urged as many women as possible to join the military, just as the case of Britain. The viewers can see how the city looked during World War II by looking at background of the painting. The background of the painting where the figures are looking towards are very industrialized, such as where the weapons are usually made. Especially, by looking at the figure with blue shirt and brown skirt in the foreground. She is leaning against the fence. The painter showed how tired of waiting the women were. Even to this day, when American troops go for a mission say Iraq, Iran and other countries, the homecoming is one grand event everyone looks forward to (Csikszentmihalyi 50).

The wives to the serving marines and army corps get overwhelmed with emotions upon meeting their loved ones after long periods of separation. The artist was able to succinctly illustrate the social, economic and political status quo of America during the world war II. Women who took key roles in running the economy and families have been recognized through the painting. The moms, daughters and wives are waiting their family members to come back from the war. The painter showed the situation of that time by using of shadow, poses of figures, color, background and women are in all different ages. Works cited Baigell, Matthew. Tarbell.  The figurative tradition and the Whitney Museum of American Art: paintings and sculpture from the permanent collection.