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The Colonial Period. Visual Arts. Because colonists spent most of their time trying to survive in a new world, most of the art created was functional —created to be used in everyday life. Most of the functional art was also very beautiful.
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Visual Arts • Because colonists spent most of their time trying to survive in a new world, most of the art created was functional—created to be used in everyday life. • Most of the functional art was also very beautiful. • The colonists made beautiful silverwork, furniture, dishes, fabrics, quilts, and needlework.
Visual Arts • As time passed, the colonists’ interest in art grew. Wealthy colonists decorated their homes with European art. • American painters usually studied and started their careers in Europe. • During this time, colonial artists focused on painting portraits. • Some of the most famous portraits of the time are portraits of George Washington by artists such as Charles Willson Peale.
Visual Arts Silver Teapot, Paul Revere http://chisnell.com/art/Colonial%20and%20Enlightenment/Forms/Gallery.aspx Colonial Needlework http://www.ushistory.org/washingtoncrossing/kids/chores.htm Portrait of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale http://www.history.org/history/paintings/george_washington/
Dance • Colonial dances were the same dances colonists had performed in Europe. • These dances are called folk dances because they were created by regular people, not choreographers. • People came together for social dances. This brought the people together as a community to have fun and socialize.
Dance • Colonists did not dance in pairs. They danced in lines, with couples facing each other or in circles. • All dances had particular steps that dancers were supposed to know. Dancers did not make up their own steps. • Wealthy parents even hired “dancing masters” to teach their children the correct steps. • A famous colonial dance was the Virginia Reel.
Dance The Galena Historic Dance Society http://www.anniewiggins.com/historic_dance.html
Music • Most of the music heard in colonial homes and concert halls was the same as that heard in Europe. • Mozart, Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi were famous European composers of the time. • During the colonial period, the piano was a new instrument, and it began to replace the harpsichord. • Violins and flutes were common instruments. • Church music was also very important to the colonists.
Music Colonial Piano http://www.ngaiopress.com/pianocontents.htm Harpsichord by Andreas Ruckers http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Keyboards/RuckersHarpsichord10000/Ruckers1643.html Colonial Flutes http://www.apsva.us/Page/6516
Drama • By the colonial period, there were several theaters in America, particularly in the southern colonies. • An evening at a colonial theater lasted five to six hours. An evening usually involved a play, dancing, music, and other performances, such as juggling. • The plays and actors who performed in the colonies were largely from Europe. The works of William Shakespeare were very popular. • In some colonies, “playacting” was not allowed. In these places, it was considered bad by the church, possibly because it took people’s time away from their work at hand.
Resource Arts & Humanities: The Student Handbook Elementary Edition—Intermediate Grades 4-5 By Katie Fraser Carpenter
