Analyse de l'œuvre American Progress de John Gast 1872

John GAST, American Progress, 1872

American Progress is a painting created by John Gast in 1872.

In the 19th century in the United States, Manifest Destiny was the idea that Americans were destined to rule the continent which allowed the Americans to take and destroy the land, the animals and native people. Manifest Destiny is depicting the west as uncivilized, wild and unruly which America must naturally colonize and dominate.  a lot of people believed that there was some God-given plan for them to settle in those lands.  American Progress is the representative of that time’s mindset. 

The movement in the picture is going from its right to the left, with the newborn Americans going after the Native Americans. The main focal point of American Progress is This figure of a woman dressed as a muse or a Greek goddess in a white dress in the middle, symbolizing Progress.  She is a large woman in the center of the painting who seems to be surrounded by an aura of light. She is very angelic-like, as her clothing is flowing behind her as if they were the wings of an angel. She is a representation of the United States of America moving from the east to the west. Compared to the elements around her, she is light, which symbolizes knowledge. This also coincides with the book that she is holding in her right hand. She is bringing forth her "superior" knowledge to the darkness, to those that are "unlearned" in her eyes. In her other hand, she holds a telegraph wire, which symbolizes progress in communication. It also symbolizes westward expansion because people will be coming with that communication as they did with the The transcontinental railroad line created in 1869. Altogether, this woman symbolizes what Americans believed at this time: that God has told America to spread its "superior" knowledge to others and to teach them. Another female figure that comes to mind when looking at American Progress is the Statue of Liberty which is considered to be the symbol of American liberation.

In the lower left hand of the painting, there is a group of Native Americans. They are difficult to see because they are hidden in a layer of darkness. They are at the edge of the painting with almost nowhere else to go. The Europeans are chasing the Natives as they did with the The Trail of Tears founded in 1838 which is the route along which the American government forced Native tribes to migrate to reservations in the West. Essentially, they are trapped, like so many Native Americans at the time. The side of the Native Americans is also portrayed as the wild one. They are running away, along with the indigenous animals of the land, not being able to understand or appreciate the ‘blessing’ of the American expansion. The painting also shows the dissonance between modernization and nature.

Finally, In John Gast’s painting there are hardly any weapons, only a hunter holding a gun, and a Native American, while raising his tomahawk, is running away.  Since there are no weapons in the painting it subconsciously gives a peaceful feel to westward expansion just as Lady Liberty glides over the landscape in a non-threatening way. In reality, America’s westward expansion was full of bloody wars, fighting, killing, and massacres as the Native Americans resisted the attempt to take their land.  It sends the message that the American nation does not offer freedom to everyone – only those who fit in with its main course and who share its beliefs.

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