Drawing Electricity from the Sky
Examine Benjamin West's painting, Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky (1805). You may access this painting via the following link: http://www.frankelec.com/west_fullsize.htm. You can also find the painting on page 87 of your yellow American Literature book. After spending a few moments with the painting, please respond to one or more of the following questions:
1. What do you think the artist is trying to achieve in this painting? Consider the sometimes clashing roles of science and religion and how they function in this painting.
2. What are your reactions to this painting?
3. What do you think Benjamin Franklin thought of this portrait of himself?
1. What do you think the artist is trying to achieve in this painting? Consider the sometimes clashing roles of science and religion and how they function in this painting.
2. What are your reactions to this painting?
3. What do you think Benjamin Franklin thought of this portrait of himself?
posted by Kristin L | 9:17 AM
4 Comments:
1) Generally, science and religion have a very difficult time coexisting with one another. Take the idea of evolution and creationism. Only evolution can be taught in schools due to not only the Constitution of the United States but also because of their contrasting ideas. The picture, however, depicts the idea of the invention of electricity having something to do with the religion that Ben Franklin followed.This painting could potentially be saying that even though there is a separation of church and state and that even though the ideas of religion and science are on two entirely different ends of the spectrum, there is a possibility that the two do have something in common, share a common bond that could potentially affect life in the future.
This made milk come out of my nose! I find this painting to be more humorous than powerful and awesome. Benjamin Franklin did invent, discover, and improve on many aspects of daily life including his own self-improvement.Really this painting makes science and religion come as a whole under Benjamin Franklin as "lord of the universe" it seems. The painter did an excellent job, and Benjamin Franklin may secretly have liked it but wouldn't have admitted it with his Quaker buddies around.
Personally, I thought this painting was very annoying. Benjamin Franklin is put on a pedestal like a god while the angels are helping him pull electricity out of the sky. Where is the electricity coming from- God? If so, why does this painting make Ben look so amazing? He didn't MAKE it. I think the artist is trying to portray Ben as admirable, and I'm sure Ben loved that he looked so good.
In my opinion I think that the artist of this painting veiws Ben Franklin as a median for a higher power to reach humanity. Franklin, in this painting, was willing to reach for this oportunity. It's as if the angels have been holding this string up... just waiting for some human to jump at the opportunity to "make this invention." I think that Franklin was a very knowledgable man, but I think that he gives himself too much credit. I believe that this artist is also trying to show that Ben Franklin shouldn't give himself as much credit as he does.
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