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Jacob Lawrence's This Is A Family Living In Harlem

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In the case of Jacob Lawrence, his personal style brought the African-American experience to life using contrasts between dark and vivid colors. Nonetheless, two examples of some of his most known paintings include “ The Builders, The Family” and “This is a Family Living in Harlem”. While both paintings are similar in that they both show strong family unity in the African Culture, they are different in the setting where each of the paintings are taking place. Strong family unity is present in, “ The Builders, The Family”, as it shows a nice, well dressed family walking together on their way to either church or their household. The vibrant colors and positive facial expressions help reinforce the positive feel of the picture. Rather than having the family members each walking away from each other, they remain united and are hand in hand as they move forward. The children show enthusiasm and appeared to be skipping with joy down the street. Since the …show more content…

The family shows signs of being part of either a low or poor class based off the conditions of the household they are living in and the bareness of their apartment. For instance, the dining room is extremely small and the kitchen seems old and worn out. Correspondingly, the family members seem to lack personality due to to the simple clothing they are wearing. However, the bright colors found interior of the home create a contrast between the dreary environment of the household. This helps convey the message that although the family may not be as economically stable and live a dull life, they still happily interact among one another and come together every evening to have a meal together.Since the setting is inside, it separates the family from society and provides a feeling of closeness and intimacy among each of the members from the comfort of their

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