Adoration+of+St.+Joan+of+Arc,+The

Date: 1896
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1910/1910.9.8_1a.jpg?itok=59aLOIlq width="396" height="269" link="@https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/adoration-of-st-joan-of-arc-8500"]] || Title: **Adoration of St. Joan of Arc**

Artist: **J. William Fosdick** Born: Charlestown, Massachusetts 1858 Died: Boston, Massachusetts 1937

Medium: fire etched wood relief Dimensions: three panels, each: 109 3/4 x 49 1/2 in. (278.8 x 125.7 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of William T. Evans

Accession: 1910.9.8 || Fosdick made this relief to appeal to wealthy industrialists who favored richly designed interiors and uplifting art. He tapped into the fantasy of a more spiritual past, and when the screen was exhibited, it was praised for craftsmanship that rivaled a medieval masterwork.
 * Exhibition Label: **

At the turn of the twentieth century, Joan of Arc was a popular symbol in American culture. Mark Twain wrote about her in 1896, Anna Hyatt Huntington created a sculpture of the martyr for Riverside Drive in New York, and George Bernard Shaw's famous play about her was first produced on Broadway in 1923. She could be a figure from the romantic past and an emblem of the "New Woman" in the modern world. Joan may have died for king and country—as the legend at the bottom of the screen records—but her symbolic power as a woman who took history into her hands also resonated among women fighting for the right to vote.

St. Joan of Arc by J William Fosdick (1896) Outline by Judith Keith
 * Docent Notes: **

INTRO 1. Joan of Arc ("J of A"), was a 15th century girl of 17. She led a French army of 8,000 to victory over the English toward the end of the 100 years war, and was captured and burned at the stake by the English when she was 18 (1491). She was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1920. 2 She’s been memorialized in symphonies, paintings, plays (including Shakespeare/G.B. Shaw), novels (Mark Twain), movies (//The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc// (1999) with Milla Jovovich/Dustin Hoffman), and even video games (Jeanne D’Arc; War & Warriors - Joan of Arc), over the centuries.

J OF A DETAILS 1. Took 4 months to do Joan of Arc. Completed in 1896 2. J of A was intended for a memorial chapel to J of A. 3. J of A is 10' X 15': At time it was made, was considered largest artwork using the pyrography technique ever made.

SYMBOLISM - 1. Adoration of J of A shown by angels/soldiers kneeling in prayer 2. Composition/use of gold draws all eyes to Joan <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">3. Triangle composition & semi circular lines (including that of the 2 angels in front) draws eye to Joan <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">4. Torch/sword in her hands symbols of her military role and her burning at stake. J of A & soldiers’ armor show military role <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">5. Legend at the bottom reads, "my last wishes and thoughts are for my God, my country, and my king," words she proclaimed just before her execution. Flags at the top bear lilies of royal France/symbols of Orléans, where she defeated English.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">6. Women’s suffrage: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">a. She became a symbol for suffragists because she was a powerful woman successfully fighting for a cause and martyred as result – this resonated with women fighting/suffering for the right to vote. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">b. There was a J of A Suffrage League <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">c. Christabel Pankhurst - said Joan of Arc was suffragists’ patron saint. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">d. In suffrage processions/parades, women often impersonated her, dressing in armor/ riding white horse/carrying J of A banners. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">e. In the 1890's (J of A done in 1896)- <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Several important womens’ organizations were founded, including: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> a. National American Woman Suffrage Association led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">b. National Council of Jewish Women <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">c. National Association of Colored Women <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Colorado became the 1st state to give women the vote <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Elizabeth Cady Stanton published //The Woman's Bible//.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">J. WILLIAM FOSDICK ("F") (the artist) - <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">1. Some consider him the "Father of Wood Etching" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">2. F began doing pyrography as a child and was self taught. As adult, he studied art in Paris for several years. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">3. F was a pyrographer, painter, muralist, potter, & craftsman. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">4. Is it fine or decorative art? Fosdick considered himself craftsman & artist, and considers this artwork both decoration & art. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">5. Artwork was created by burning/etching wood with red-hot tools, technique called pyrography. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> a. One of the hardest things to do with this technique is to make a straight line – Note that this artwork contains many straight lines <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> b. F said "[pyrography] calls for all the knowledge of drawing and color necessary to the painter on canvas; and in addition the facility in the working of wood, gilding, and in woodcarving." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> c. F began wood etching using highly flammable liquid, naphtha, (e.g. lighter fluid is made w/naptha), saturated sponge, bellows, and etching tools, while working alongside a device that looked like today’s water heaters (contained the naptha). Process was dangerous/emitted noxious fumes/working bellows tired the artist <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> d. Later, starting in 1890's, F used a thermo-pyrography electric tool

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">DONOR - <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">William T. Evans donated J of A to the National Gallery (predecessor to SAAM) in 1910 – as part of the founding collection of the Smithsonian. He was a wealthy railroad financier who collected art from a young age. Also donated several other artworks to Nat’l Gallery at the time.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Artist Biography <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">SAAM Collection Page
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Links: **