Christina's World
Christina's World is a painting by Andrew Wyeth from 1948 and is now one of the most famous works of American painting of the 20th century. It shows a woman lying in a field and looking at a gray house on the horizon.
The work, executed in tempera in a realistic style, belongs to Magical Realism and is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York .
background
The woman depicted in the picture is Anna Christina Olson (1893–1963). She lived with her family in Cushing , Maine, and probably suffered from Charcot-Marie-Tooth's disease , an incurable neurological disease that causes muscle wasting.
Wyeth owned a summer house nearby and saw her frequently. However, the actual model for the painting was Wyeth's wife, Betsy. The house seen in the background, now known as the Olson House, is open to the public and is operated by the Farnsworth Art Museum. As a National Historic Landmark , it was restored a few years ago to match the look in the painting.
Reception and history
Christina's World was first exhibited at the Macbeth Gallery in Manhattan in 1948 . Although it received little critical attention, Alfred Barr , the founding director of the Museum of Modern Art, bought it for $ 1,800. The work quickly became popular in the following years.
Reception in music
Christina's World is the title of a melancholy, jazz- inspired piano piece on the album Mia Brentano 's Hidden Sea - 20 Songs for 2 Pianos , played by Benyamin Nuss & Max Nyberg (2018).
literature
- Kristy Puchko, 15 Things You Might Not Know About Christina's World ( online )
- Madlen Davies, Mystery of disease behind one of the world's most famous paintings is solved: Crawling woman in 'Christina's World' has rare nerve condition, expert claims , in: Mail Online , May 6, 2016 ( online )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Christina's World on YouTube , April 30, 2018, accessed March 16, 2019.