Tuesday, May 5, 2015

The Girl in the Painting


I love this little girl. Her image inspires me as I work on a book about an extraordinary 97-year-old woman whose life has been an instruction in achievement against all odds. The girl here is a detail from a well-known Norman Rockwell painting titled "The Problem We All Live With." My subject sees herself in this little girl; she sees her whole life embodied in this famous painting by an artist more known for pastoral middle American scenes in which people of color appeared only in positions of servitude.


Here is the painting in its entirety. Notice how the tomato splattered on the wall looks both like a trail of blood and angel wings. I wonder if the artist intended this? I haven't yet read anywhere that he did, but how could it be accidental?

4 comments:

  1. You're right. I don't see how it could be just an accident.

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  2. Writers and artists seldom make accidents. More likely a point or more to be made.

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    Replies
    1. e, I'm perplexed that the commentaries I so far have read on this painting don't seem to mention it, though. it's so obvious to my eye.

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