A piece of art does not always consist of one single painting. It can consist of multiple paintings that come together as one single piece. A piece of art can also consist of additional parts such as words and labels. Jacob Lawrence wanted to tell a complex story of a man’s life so he used multiple images and text to emphasis the complex nature of John Brown’s story. Jacob Lawrence, a twentieth century well-known African-American painter, created a series of twenty-two series of screen print paintings named The Legend of John Brown. John Brown, a white abolitionist, became a famous American figure for his lifelong strive to end slavery in the nineteenth century. Brown believed he was an instrument of God. He felt as if God had chosen him to eliminate slavery. Brown believed God was directing Brown lead attacks, fights, and killings in order to put a stop to slavery in America. These details of Brown’s life are evident in Lawrence’s artwork. Jacob Lawrence’s goal is to document John Brown’s life story through a string of paintings that show Brown’s struggle to please God’s desire for Brown to abolish slavery.
Jacob Lawrence’s The Legend of John Brown is very unique in that the piece does not consist of just a single painting, but a series of paintings as well as a written story. Each painting consists of a caption and a number as part of the medium of the art. The caption helps to emphasize the story that Lawrence is telling through his art. The text also often includes setting, such as the exact place and date, to emphasize the true historical meaning behind the art. For example, painting number 19 states “Sunday, October 16, 1859, John Brown with a company of 21 men, white and black, marched on Harpers Ferry.” Numbers are included with each painting to increase clarity. The numbers give the series of paintings an obvious timeline.
Lawrence’s medium of silk screen prints that consist of “large flat forms, bold diagonals, pure colors, and [little of detail]” that add to Lawrence’s artwork’s clarity. Lawrence’s use distinct lines and colors in all of his pieces add to Lawrence’s apparent and understandable illustration of Brown’s life. In addition, most of the frames concentrate on the figure of John Brown. Lawrence succeeds in maintaining the focus of the paintings on John Brown’s life story. There is no question in what he Lawrence is trying to depict in each of his paintings. These repeated themes of style create a recurring pattern that links all of the episodes together into one single piece of artwork.
The first piece in Jacob Lawrence’s series is labeled “John Brown, a man who had a fanatical belief that he was chosen by God to overthrow black slavery in America.” Lawrence wanted his artwork’s audience to know right off the bat that John Brown felt as if he was an instrument of God. Although this is stated directly, it is shown in the artwork itself. A man, John Brown, is nailed by hands and feet to a distinct black cross. A bold flow of red color, representing blood, comes from his ankles where he is pinned. The image is extremely similar to the famous image of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion on the cross. On the other hand, viewers could interpret this image as Jesus Christ himself, not John Brown. Regardless, the audience is initially aware of the influence of the Christian religion in Brown’s life. His painting sends the message that Brown will take any action in behalf of God, even bloodshed and death, to please and follow God’s plan for him to end slavery. The image of the cross is evident throughout the series of paintings to remind viewers of John Brown’s motivation.
The paintings continue to describe John Brown’s life story. They illustrate John Brown reflecting and praying about God’s wishes, as shown in painting numbers two and four. The reoccurring theme of the black cross in these paintings puts an emphasis on God’s influence on Brown. The paintings continue to tell the Brown’s story by showing Brown discussing his plans to abolish slavery with others, as shown in painting numbers five, six, and seven. The art’s viewers would not completely understand this concept without the captions to explain this. The story of John Brown is apparent through Jacob Lawrence’s captions as well as the prints themselves.
Painting number fourteen also demonstrates Lawrence’s goal to a large extinct. It continues the theme of solid lines, clear points, and distinction so that the viewers have no doubt on what he story he is telling. The John Brown figure is clearly the focal point of the piece. Brown is in the heart of the painting, with three definite walls surrounding him. The wall on the left shows the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus. This displays the innocence of John Brown’s actions in the beginning of journey to put a stop to slavery. The image of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is shown on the wall on the right. This, again, shows John Brown’s willingness to sacrifice himself in order to abide by God’s wishes. It gives the viewers a sense of foreshadowing that he will in the end die for this pursuit to end slavery. The center wall is painted a bold blue, to keep the emphasis on the figure of John Brown. John Brown is holding out his over a small table with a few coins as if to ask for money. His wide eyes show that he is pleading for the financial support from others. It shows his passion and his hope his strive to end slavery. The religious images on each side of him emphasize his religious driving force in his actions.
The paintings to that follow painting number fourteen illustrate John Brown’s continuing voyage to terminate slavery. Jacob Lawrence focuses on the raid of Harper’s Island in the last few paintings of the series. Paintings numbered fifteen through eighteen show Brown planning and organizing his raid, while paintings numbered nineteen and twenty show the actual Harper’s Island raid. The Legend of John Brown concludes with the death of John Brown in the painting number twenty-two. The foreshadowing of his death in the painting number one and number fourteen is confirmed. Painting number twenty two displays Brown being hung by a rope by his neck for his illegal raid on Harper’s Island.
Through his twenty-two series of paintings and captions, Jacob Lawrence tells a detailed story of the historical legend, John Brown. Lawrence successfully achieves his goal to document John Brown’s endeavor to end slavery by the direction of God. As mentioned previously, his use of distinct lines and bold colors make his images clear and easy to understand. In addition, the detailed description underneath the actual print gives the viewers an exact timeline of Brown’s life, leaving no room for uncertainty. With the help of your parents, look online to view his paintings! Do you think he is successful in his goal?
Fun Links
The Legend of John Brown, by Jacob Lawrence. 1977. http://www.arts.wa.gov/public-art/legend-of-john-brown/index.html
-Anna Perez
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