As a kid, my grandparents had this painting in one of their bathrooms. I was actually always afraid of it. I remember often going upstairs to use the restroom to avoid the painting. For some reason in my mind I felt as though the woman in the painting lived alone, and she had been sitting in the field when she heard something come from her home causing her to whip around back to the house to see if anything was there. It always struck me as if there was some sort of underlying panic. Maybe it was because of the tension in her arms or they way her posture seemed somewhat unnatural. I just remember thinking the painting felt lonely and panicked at the same time, like the feeling of being home alone but then hearing a door shut somewhere in your house. Anyways I just really hadn't thought about this painting much since my grandparents passed away a few years ago, but I saw this thumbnail and all those childhood impressions came back to me. Love hearing the actual history of the painting.
Oh yeah, I have always gotten creepy vibes from it too, for much the same reasons. She's contorted in a way that seems not quite natural, and the distant house looks almost abandoned or haunted.
I always feel so desperate when I see her, how far away she is in the wilds of the long grass versus the comforts of her home. I like how this vid re-shaped that horrible impression for me.
Man I loved this video and never expected you to do a video on my absolute favorite artist! My Aunt is actually the collection manager at the Brandywine and was incredibly close with Mr. Wyeth through much of his life. He even painted her years ago in a piece called Murlanda which was the first version of his other painting Arctic Circle. I was young when I met him but I'll never forget his incredibly kind eyes and the look of excitement for the world that never seemed to fade. Thank you for this video!
I got to go to the Brandywine this year. It was a great experience! I fell in love with "Woodshed", the painting with the hanging crows. His compositions are so modern despite the subjects being classic.
That’s very cool! I met him as a child. My Grandaddy Frederick Sweet was close friends with them here in northern Maine. Grandaddy was Curator at the Art Institute of Chicago and gave Andrew his first huge show. I wish I had an original but I do love his body of work.
it's interesting to me that you describe the painting as serene. personally i've always associated it with claustrophobia, and a sense of sickness because of the colors
Poet Anderson dread, awareness of abuse, hopelessness warped into Lynchian sense of inescapable dream. Serenity is basically opposite of what this painting does to me.
I’ve always thought of this painting as overwhelmingly lonely. She’s all alone on this empty field and the idea that she can make it to the house seems near impossible and insurmountable. She’s suffering with no one else there but herself.
Interesting to see the different interpretations. It's her intent at looking at the house that stands out to me. She has just woken from a nap in the field and she's realized she's being called, she's just yelled back "I'm coming!" but she's going to roll on her back and gaze up into the sky. It's not that urgent. She loves the house and the people within it but she also enjoys the solitude and serenity of the vast openness . For me it's an artwork of confliction, she's fiercely protective of the house and it's people but she needs her space and freedom every now and then.
First time seeing this video, I remember seeing this painting quickly when I was in high school, about 1976, at first glance I found it to be romantic in nature. Not until many years later did I know the true story
Same thing for LEMMINO (Top10Memes) when he used to upload weekly. Now, it took months to create a perfect video that focuses more on documentary than countdown facts.
Mr. Friendship Word. I mean, I get it. I make similar content and I can only manage bi-weekly. But it was still a nice thing to look forward to every week.
His scheduel was every other week, but he seem to take longer this year. It is two weeks since the Spotlight video so perhaps he is back on scheduel after just posting one video a month for a while.
This just strikes such a deep unsettling horror in me and I can't even explain why. The painting feels so empty and yet like there's something watching from the house. I love this painting but I would never want this in my house.
When I was a child I lived with my father in a old white farm house. It was haunted. At 3 am loud stomping up the stairs (woke us up) and one time heard walking down the hall. My father asked me if my friend was here upstairs and I said "no" He hid late at night behind an oak tree with a shotgun to find the teenagers he thought were trying a scare us but none ever appeared. I was afraid in that house and still see it in my mind. I could never find the history of it and it's torn down now.
Being evocative is nearly always more impactful than being on the nose. You give someone 2+2 instead of 4. The viewer is compelled to participate, instead of being passive and simply receiving. And as such you will end up with something that includes you.
To me Wyeth's art is melancholic. In most of his paintings there is a certain dread of something bad about to happen. Even the way he used light conveys a deep sadness, which is traditionally used by artists to create an upbeat mood. I sometimes paint replicas of his relatively simpler paintings in Gouache or on the computer and it affects my mood more than any other artists' paintings I copy to learn. Truly a great master artist.
My grandfather passed away from charcot-marie-tooth disease when I was 9. Both he and his sister had the disease. She made cakes until she could no longer hold her tools. This painting has always gripped me, but now I know why I always felt so deeply connected to this painting. Thank you for telling this story it brought tears to my eyes. Now this painting reminds me of the enduring power of the human will and a reminder of the gift I have that I take for granted. A simple reminder of how the ordinary can be extraordinary when we spend time to enjoy what we see as ordinary. I am grateful everyday that I have the ability to move. I luckily do not have the disease, but I have a nervous system condition that sometimes leaves parts of my body immobile. Every day I get to move is a great day and this painting is that reminder. Thank you @nerdwriter1
The timing couldn't be better. I'm an art major at the University of Maine, and our art building is the Wyeth Art Center - funded by the Wyeth family. I just got done with my last class this semester there. For the family that helped fund our department, we don't talk about him much. Thanks for posting this!
I’ve had this painting sitting in my house since I was a child and as soon as I saw the thumbnail it felt like someone had taken part of my home and put it somewhere far away. Its a shame its taken 18 years of my life to see this in a mainstream light to the point where I almost thought I was the sole owner and that this painting was mine alone.
My great grandfather was deeply inspired by Andrew Wyeth. He painted scenes of the Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio and the paintings are all over my family's house. Christina's World invokes alot of the feelings I get from my great grandpas paintings, the feelings of longing, tucked away memories, and living in and being inspired by the land. I never got to meet him, but I'm glad his legacy lives on like Wyeth.
Well theres a difference between art as a painting and art as a feeling. I personally agree with both. The fact that you have that discussion makes the painting more valuable
Man, oh man, oh man. This brought tears to my eyes. This was what UA-cam was made for. Love you Mr. Nerdwriter. Hands down, one of the best videos on this channel.
Yes, that film feels like Wyeth's paintings come to life (with just a bit of Edward Hopper). If you enjoyed that film, I might recommend another film that shares the same visual influences and pictorialist cinematography: _The Reflecting Skin_ (1990). When watching it I guessed it was inspired by Wyeth's paintings and sure enough... It is _quite_ dark in subject matter, though. Someone referred to it as "Days of Hell" and that's an apt description.
My dad had this painting. My mom hated it. When my parents divorced, he took it with him. He died in 1986. I don’t know what happened to the painting. This video is the first time I’ve seen this painting in years.
MOMA in NYC has the original. I tried to see it last December, but it wasn't on display for some reason. But I got to see The Starry Night so it wasn't a complete waste of time.
@@sschmidtevalue :D :))) :)) :D how could going to the MOMA ever be a complete waste of time?? your funny. if I lived in NYC I am sure I would get a membership and go 4-5 times a year minimum..
@@birgitmitchell5648 as a membership holder i was going like twice a month lol. when its free it becomes a great place to just hang out alone and free your mind and contemplate
I keep coming back to this video to appreciate the perspective of Wyeth. I just say Christina’s world in person it’s breath taking. Thank you for. This insightful essay on my favorite work of art
I had never seen Christina’s World before this video. I now love it. I have an autistic daughter... and one not autistic. It reminds me try to see our home through there eyes, through there world.
yeah, I always imagined her saying "wait!" to someone who had already left. I guess partly because the pink dress seems very romantic, like she was on a date that went badly or ended too soon. That was the story that popped into my head when I first saw it. But then again, I was also sixteen when I first saw this painting.
That's what I've always gotten out of it. The twist of her torso is a position you can't hold very long, and she's digging both hands in the dirt and leaning her whole body toward that house. Like she's longing to get there so deeply she'll crawl the whole way if she has to. Which it sounds like the inspiration for the painting really did.
@@sleepingdogpro yes she looked to crawl and or the person Wyeth referenced to had some kind of deceas that forced her to crawl. I think the commentator said that she liked to do it. The woman that really lived in a house maybe somewhat like the scene. Actually he used his wife's figure to express the girl. I love this. She is struggling with probably more than a couple things in her mind..
I live in Argentina. I always liked to paint. Never was a good painter. But I bought a lot of art books, and one day I descovered Wyeth's " Cristina's World". I remember thinking: "This is the most beautiful painting in the world.". Five years ago I could travel to New York. And of course I went to the Met. And there, before my astonished eyes I was face to face with the original "Cristina's World". Tears came, of course. A dream was full filled at last.
I remember at art class in middle school, they had a picture of this in the textbook, and of coarse a was rather bored by class so I would just stare at this painting that I found in the back of the book. Its so simple yet captured my attention for hours and hours. I don’t know if I’m thrilled or sad to finally hear about Christina, cause a big part of my intrigue was the mystery of what she was doing. We had one assignment in art class was to talk about the painting, analyzing it to try to figure out what Christina’s world was about. We all agreed that the emotion of the painting was terror, and that Christina was probably a young woman being domestically abused. Couldn’t have been more wrong! But the fact I care that much shows how good the painting is.
I grew up in Chadds Ford just like Wyeth. I would look around and see all these wonderful landscapes and know that his art was living and breathing around me. It’s such a break from the rest of the area and I truly appreciate his works of art that capture the place I call home.
One of my favorite paintings. I never saw any calm in the piece at all. It's always filled me with a sense of loss and longing. There is a deep, unbreathing part of my soul that is touched every time I look at it.
As a person who isn't into art so to say. I really must say that I always enjoy your work. It's really interesting to me because it's completely out of my scope of interests. I don't even know how or when, but one day I just stumbled upon some video of yours and it grabbed me. And ever since I watch these video essays from you and others with a keen interest. Thank you!
Your videos are of the highest quality out of any channels I watch. Every word has impact and you never tell us too much or too little. Going to watch it twice.
Visit the Brandywine River museum in Chadds Ford PA if you want to look into his and his family's work more. I grew up right by there it's like 40 minutes outside Philadelphia definitely worth the visit.
In 1969, a fellow art student and I hitch hiked from Ohio to Chadd's Ford, PA to meet Andrew Wyeth. We finally made it to his house, catching rides thru the Allegheny Mountains for 2 days. He not only invited us in, he showed us around, took us into the big mill building and his paintings on the walls and floors of the upper room....then he invited us to stay the night, letting us sleep in the 3rd of three buildings called the "Granary" Next morning we were greeted by Mrs. Wyeth and she had breakfast made for us. Andy was already gone to the studio....what an experience.
Nature is the ultimate source of inspiration, from the colors of the seasons, the cycle of life, the batlles of survivles, to the calmness.. it's all there, you just have to become transparent to see it like he said.. Thank you so much for this, and for all of your videos man!
my grandmother had a print of this from the 70s above her bed and she would make up stories about the girl for me and my siblings, i didn't know how famous it was
I grew up 10 miles from the Wyeth family estate in Bucks County, PA. I didn't realize how famous Andrew and his father N.C. were until I left home. They are/were national treasures.
I’ve known this painting for years and years but I was recently in NYC and turned a corner in MOMA to find it in person, unexpectedly. Out of everything I saw in all the New York museums, this stuck with me the most. Impacted me beyond words. And tonight I stumbled upon this video made rather recently. It makes me so happy. Only a few paintings have stricken me speechless in person: Guernica and Las Meninas in Madrid, and Christina’s World in New York City.
This is very timely - there is an N.C Wyeth (Andrew Wyeth's father and an accomplished illustrator/painter) exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art right now. Incredible show of a great artist, and you can definitely see the father's influence on his son's later work. If you're anywhere close to Maine I'd recommend giving it a look.
A print of this painting was in every single one, of the 20 Elementary schools, I went to as a child. In Montana, Washington, and Massachusetts. Once when I had finished a test early, and was bored with no new book to read, the teacher suggested I write what I thought was happening in the painting to fill the time. Now 40 + years later when I am teaching Art, and Art History, all over the world, your amazing video and perceptive portrayal of Andrew Wyeth's work brings tears to my eyes. All of your videos are utterly stellar. I look forward to discovering every one.
I first came across 'Christina's World' in a very trying time in my life. Something about the painting immediately resonated with me on a fundamental level. I identified with her perceived loneliness and sense of longing as she leaned toward the house, grasping the grass. I would gaze at it for hours, and as I did, a strange sense of comfort would build up inside me. Things got better and now I have a very large framed print of 'Christina's World' hanging in my room. It's the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night. It's now a part of my world.
I've never seen this painting before but as soon as I saw it it reminded me of the landscapes we have here in Ireland. In the vast outdoors where the land can stretch untouched for miles except for a few smattering of life like in this painting. I don't see any tension in the painting except in my minds eyes I imagine the woman in it caught in the moment of suddenly whipping back to look at the house even stumbling as she makes her way to it. Here you can get lost in the sprawl of the country, feel overwhelmed by it. The woman is not posed facing towards the viewer but instead looks back toward her home. I feel to me it represents the connection we feel to our homes whatever feelings of escape or boredom or unease which we may have towards it it's still home, our place in this wasteland no matter how indistinct or unimportant. The colours even remind me of my home muted and brown but still you can spend all day discovering nww details if you only cared to look. This painting reminds me that it really is us that makes nature truly beautiful as people like Wyeth take the courtesy to notice and capture it such as this.
I always look at Wyeth’s paintings for a while every time I go to the Brandywine River Art Museum. It’s also great that a good number of the staff knew Wyeth well whether personally or through extensive research. Christina’s World as well as his storybook illustrations are mesmerizing. Thank you for sharing the story of this painting! :)
From neat looking painting that raises bit of melancholy and peaceful isolation you taken me through the history behind it and details in it, that broaden the reception to the point of wanting to escape this view. Life has so many levels of perception. Thank you for bringing this beauty.
Every time I get to the end of your videos I suddenly notice the aspect ratio. And then I'm reminded how brilliant that decision was and how much sense it makes and inspires me to move forward with my own creative choices. Well crafted video.
During the intro when he said “when I put it, it was right” This is to me, what art is? I don’t know how to explain it per se, but it was beautiful to hear
My grandma had a copy of this painting. She kept it in the hallway. She had many paintings, including a huge copy of Klimt's "The Kiss," but I always liked Christina's World best. She died last summer, and we got the painting. We keep it over the fireplace. It feels to me like freedom, like running in the middle of nowhere, like finding pieces of a past life. She is youth and curiosity embodied. Hell, I don't know. I just don't think I'll ever stop thinking about it. Great video, as always.
Truth be told, this video was the first time I’d heard of this artist. And while there’s a lovely appeal to more abstract art, there’s something to be said about the power you get from seeing a painting so firmly based in reality, able to pick up a part of the world and just lay it out on a canvas, with nothing more than a brush, some paint, and a hand
Interesting, the serenity you mentioned. I didn’t feel it. This painting immediately made me uneasy. The colors combined with the stress I saw in Christine.
I've never seen this guy's paintings before. But they are incredible. The angle and the observation of the paintings are like there is no observer. There is no person observing. It's the space between us, where no mind exists, somehow observing. He says as if eyes could see it, but that be all. But there are no eyes. It's what we see, but in a way we never see it at the same time. Incredible.
I live in Andrew’s hometown, right next to Cushing, Maine, and have seen this house. There is a wonderful museum called The Farnsworth that shows many of his paintings, only 15 minutes from my house. He is an absolutely amazing artist.
Your work is such an important contribution to this platform. It reminds me to be more thoughtful of the gravity of subtle moments in life and art. You're such a talent, and we're lucky to have you.
Thank you for this beautiful video essay. I have always loved Andrew Wyeth, and now see an added element to his paintings. It was interesting to hear his own philosophy and thoughts about painting as well. I also appreciate the great writing and narrative voice you provide.
I love this video so much. Wyeth is one of my all-time favorite painters and I remember very vividly going to an exhibition of his works in Atlanta. I was floored by the intricacies of the landscapes, the monochromatic color palettes, and the fine, frail details (specifically the fabrics)...I still get chills just thinking about his works.
If there's an afterlife, any afterlife, I always hoped it would make me a silent observer of humanity. Like being a ghost with eyes and ears. Not influencing anything. Just observing. Perhaps that's heaven? Hell even a few billion years from now when all the stars burn out, and the Universe is more black holes than space, I wonder what in that near eternal darkness we'll see?
“Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth with grass waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, and be at peace” - Oscar Wilde
To me, that sounds like hell. To watch others suffer, and be unable to intervene? Sure, there might be some beautiful vistas, but eventually all of your favorite characters would die eventually. It seems much worse than just no longer existing.
Wyeth..... I enjoy his work, very much. I feel so deeply drawn to the sparse, subdued, softness with which he viewed the world. I have some prints here in my home, and after many years, still stop and....look.....they almost emit..calm.. for me. Thank you, for another opportunity to admire this great artist.
Andrew Wyatt is my favorite artist. I grew up in Pennsylvania very near where he painted and where He lived. As I've gotten older, I've really learned to appreciate his art and taken what he sabout, appreciating nature.
When I finally got to see the actual painting I spent half an hour looking at it. About 20 minutes in I was hit with a strong sense of sadness and loss. His dad had just died and he put those emotions into every blade of grass
I remember seeing this paining in MOMA and thinking that this was a woman that was wanting, desiring, almost desperate for something...brilliant painting
I really like paintings, not only Wyeth's but all painting genre like this. I love looking in this painting because I feel that they are telling something that everyone guess to understand and that is way too amazing.
i grew up with several wyeth prints on the walls on my father’s home- andrew, nc, and jamie all in our living room. i used to stare at their works, lost in the details. i never knew the artists until i was a teenager. when i learned they were three generations of artists, it added a special level of meaning for me. even now, i find myself studying those prints when i return to my father’s home. they capture the imagination still.
You have a way of explaining art like no other. Every time I watch a nerd writer video I walk away with a new appreciation for the art featured. This is one of the few channels that I allow upload notifications because your work is always quality. I hope you continue to make videos forever!
This painting was hanging in my drs office when I was a child. It wasn't until I brought my own children to that same drs office that I finally understood it.
Beautiful essay ❤️ it’s serendipitous that you posted this today because I’ve spent the entirety of this fall semester researching Wyeth and designing a booklet about his life and work and I’m literally turning it in at 6pm tonight. I chose him for the assignment precisely because of the sort of wild, breathless quality his art has. Glad to know his work speaks volumes even to this day.
W. T. Jennings It’s not so simple. There are technical judgements, colour composition proportion etc but also personal emotional connections. Why do some people love a painting that others are indifferent too. So I LOVE Blue Poles by Jackson Pollock, but other paintings by him leave me cold. Reproductions don’t convey the experience of seeing the original. Similarly, there are millions of realistic paintings that are technically better than this. So why is this so special to me. They are many people who don’t like either painting. What about paintings from different cultures? Can you compare them? Our own personal histories inform our response to a piece of art.
Thank you for the commentary on this masterpiece I learned about maybe a year ago. It gives me a haunted dream feeling. Like trying to run up hill under water and your legs are heavy and slow and you're off balance and you hope to make it up to the surface before you run out of breath and drown and in the back of your mind your hoping someone sees you and reaches down and grabs you to pull you up to the surface before your breath runs out.
all of wyeth’s paintings have this unexplainable haunting nature that just draws you in
Manish Goundar New England does that to you
@@Catglittercrafts zomg New England is haunted?!
it truely feels like you aren't really there, like it was painted by it's own. Quite strange
Most of his paintings are actually Pennsylvania (including some of the ones shown in this video).
His paintings are so detailed it makes you feel sad. Sad that he had to make them. Sad that he felt he needed to make them.
As a kid, my grandparents had this painting in one of their bathrooms. I was actually always afraid of it. I remember often going upstairs to use the restroom to avoid the painting. For some reason in my mind I felt as though the woman in the painting lived alone, and she had been sitting in the field when she heard something come from her home causing her to whip around back to the house to see if anything was there. It always struck me as if there was some sort of underlying panic. Maybe it was because of the tension in her arms or they way her posture seemed somewhat unnatural. I just remember thinking the painting felt lonely and panicked at the same time, like the feeling of being home alone but then hearing a door shut somewhere in your house. Anyways I just really hadn't thought about this painting much since my grandparents passed away a few years ago, but I saw this thumbnail and all those childhood impressions came back to me. Love hearing the actual history of the painting.
I see a woman trying to escape something ( misery, abuse, etc), but cant. She must go back. . .because there is nowhere to escape. ☹️
Oh yeah, I have always gotten creepy vibes from it too, for much the same reasons. She's contorted in a way that seems not quite natural, and the distant house looks almost abandoned or haunted.
I always feel so desperate when I see her, how far away she is in the wilds of the long grass versus the comforts of her home. I like how this vid re-shaped that horrible impression for me.
Well, Wyeth's paintings were used as inspiration for the feel of the horror film "The Ring" (2002).
@@christophergonzalez8598 too much feminazi propaganda for you man...
Man I loved this video and never expected you to do a video on my absolute favorite artist! My Aunt is actually the collection manager at the Brandywine and was incredibly close with Mr. Wyeth through much of his life. He even painted her years ago in a piece called Murlanda which was the first version of his other painting Arctic Circle. I was young when I met him but I'll never forget his incredibly kind eyes and the look of excitement for the world that never seemed to fade. Thank you for this video!
I got to go to the Brandywine this year. It was a great experience! I fell in love with "Woodshed", the painting with the hanging crows. His compositions are so modern despite the subjects being classic.
Mine’s the illustration he did for King Arthur. I recommend anybody who’s a fan of Wyeth to go to Brandywine! :)
Wow, that's fascinating
So cool, what a great experience!
That’s very cool! I met him as a child. My Grandaddy Frederick Sweet was close friends with them here in northern Maine. Grandaddy was Curator at the Art Institute of Chicago and gave Andrew his first huge show. I wish I had an original but I do love his body of work.
it's interesting to me that you describe the painting as serene. personally i've always associated it with claustrophobia, and a sense of sickness because of the colors
Poet Anderson dread, awareness of abuse, hopelessness warped into Lynchian sense of inescapable dream. Serenity is basically opposite of what this painting does to me.
I’ve always thought of this painting as overwhelmingly lonely. She’s all alone on this empty field and the idea that she can make it to the house seems near impossible and insurmountable. She’s suffering with no one else there but herself.
Interesting to see the different interpretations.
It's her intent at looking at the house that stands out to me. She has just woken from a nap in the field and she's realized she's being called, she's just yelled back "I'm coming!" but she's going to roll on her back and gaze up into the sky. It's not that urgent.
She loves the house and the people within it but she also enjoys the solitude and serenity of the vast openness . For me it's an artwork of confliction, she's fiercely protective of the house and it's people but she needs her space and freedom every now and then.
First time seeing this video, I remember seeing this painting quickly when I was in high school, about 1976, at first glance I found it to be romantic in nature. Not until many years later did I know the true story
I miss when Nerdwriter was weekly. Not even sure what it is now. Seems random. But hell, I’ll take it when I can get it.
Same thing for LEMMINO (Top10Memes) when he used to upload weekly. Now, it took months to create a perfect video that focuses more on documentary than countdown facts.
yes
Mr. Friendship Word. I mean, I get it. I make similar content and I can only manage bi-weekly. But it was still a nice thing to look forward to every week.
His scheduel was every other week, but he seem to take longer this year. It is two weeks since the Spotlight video so perhaps he is back on scheduel after just posting one video a month for a while.
Olyphantastic That’s what I was thinking. I knew it was at two weeks before and I noticed it seemed more like that lately. That’d be great.
This just strikes such a deep unsettling horror in me and I can't even explain why. The painting feels so empty and yet like there's something watching from the house. I love this painting but I would never want this in my house.
Same. It has the same energy of coraline. Being alone, yet watched.
When I was a child I lived with my father in a old white farm house. It was haunted. At 3 am loud stomping up the stairs (woke us up) and one time heard walking down the hall. My father asked me if my friend was here upstairs and I said "no" He hid late at night behind an oak tree with a shotgun to find the teenagers he thought were trying a scare us but none ever appeared. I was afraid in that house and still see it in my mind. I could never find the history of it and it's torn down now.
Being evocative is nearly always more impactful than being on the nose. You give someone 2+2 instead of 4. The viewer is compelled to participate, instead of being passive and simply receiving. And as such you will end up with something that includes you.
thank you for this
_"I can't work completely out of my imagination. I must put my foot in a bit of truth; and then I can fly free."_
*~ Andrew Wyeth*
Mr. Friendship eat shit my friend, eat shit.
@@DarthClyan u good?
Liam Henson yes, why? whats your problem you worthless asshole?
@@DarthClyan yep. That's the answer.
"... and then it happens, if you're lucky, and you're perceptive enough to catch it".
That's the best line. As an artist, I'm hyper perceptive, but capturing it will be my life's pursuit.
-"But you see, how important it is to BE in a surrounding and BREATHE it..." (...that's the even more important part imho!)
That's how it feels to paint
To me Wyeth's art is melancholic. In most of his paintings there is a certain dread of something bad about to happen. Even the way he used light conveys a deep sadness, which is traditionally used by artists to create an upbeat mood. I sometimes paint replicas of his relatively simpler paintings in Gouache or on the computer and it affects my mood more than any other artists' paintings I copy to learn. Truly a great master artist.
My grandfather passed away from charcot-marie-tooth disease when I was 9. Both he and his sister had the disease. She made cakes until she could no longer hold her tools. This painting has always gripped me, but now I know why I always felt so deeply connected to this painting. Thank you for telling this story it brought tears to my eyes. Now this painting reminds me of the enduring power of the human will and a reminder of the gift I have that I take for granted. A simple reminder of how the ordinary can be extraordinary when we spend time to enjoy what we see as ordinary. I am grateful everyday that I have the ability to move. I luckily do not have the disease, but I have a nervous system condition that sometimes leaves parts of my body immobile. Every day I get to move is a great day and this painting is that reminder. Thank you @nerdwriter1
The timing couldn't be better. I'm an art major at the University of Maine, and our art building is the Wyeth Art Center - funded by the Wyeth family. I just got done with my last class this semester there.
For the family that helped fund our department, we don't talk about him much. Thanks for posting this!
I’ve had this painting sitting in my house since I was a child and as soon as I saw the thumbnail it felt like someone had taken part of my home and put it somewhere far away. Its a shame its taken 18 years of my life to see this in a mainstream light to the point where I almost thought I was the sole owner and that this painting was mine alone.
Daniel Dubinsky but it is also yours alone.
Wow! You're the owner of the painting. That is something that Andrew Wyeth wants you to be proud.
@@poweroffriendship2.0 i think he means he has a copy... maybe?
@@Irondragon1945 The original is in the Museum of Modern Arts, in New York. He clearly has a copy.
@ Well, that's for sure. I didn't said that it's the original painting.
That music was so perfect for the calmness and profoundness of this video. Damn. Truly matches the painters calm description of the painting
Do you know the name of the music?
Following this thread
Need a captain
Following this thread
Dexter Britain - The Diary
www.musicbed.com/songs/the-diary/32321
(The link is only a preview of the song, couldn’t find a full version)
My great grandfather was deeply inspired by Andrew Wyeth. He painted scenes of the Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio and the paintings are all over my family's house. Christina's World invokes alot of the feelings I get from my great grandpas paintings, the feelings of longing, tucked away memories, and living in and being inspired by the land. I never got to meet him, but I'm glad his legacy lives on like Wyeth.
Well theres a difference between art as a painting and art as a feeling. I personally agree with both. The fact that you have that discussion makes the painting more valuable
Man, oh man, oh man. This brought tears to my eyes. This was what UA-cam was made for. Love you Mr. Nerdwriter. Hands down, one of the best videos on this channel.
I love how the aspect ratio matches that of the painting
Christina’s World always reminds me of Days of Heaven.
Terrence Mallick got inspired from those painting for the shots in the film.
Same here
Yes, that film feels like Wyeth's paintings come to life (with just a bit of Edward Hopper).
If you enjoyed that film, I might recommend another film that shares the same visual influences and pictorialist cinematography: _The Reflecting Skin_ (1990). When watching it I guessed it was inspired by Wyeth's paintings and sure enough... It is _quite_ dark in subject matter, though. Someone referred to it as "Days of Hell" and that's an apt description.
And yet, oddly, this film was one of the aesthetic influences on Tobe Hooper's THE TEXAS CHAIN-SAW MASSACRE.
Idk if I'm the only one but I get Wuthering Heights vibes with this painting
Not very Yorkshire
Yes, I get it too.
My dad had this painting. My mom hated it. When my parents divorced, he took it with him. He died in 1986. I don’t know what happened to the painting. This video is the first time I’ve seen this painting in years.
MOMA in NYC has the original. I tried to see it last December, but it wasn't on display for some reason. But I got to see The Starry Night so it wasn't a complete waste of time.
@@sschmidtevalue :D :))) :)) :D how could going to the MOMA ever be a complete waste of time?? your funny. if I lived in NYC I am sure I would get a membership and go 4-5 times a year minimum..
@@sschmidtevalue its one of my favorite works there, total bummer it was off display temporarily
@@birgitmitchell5648 as a membership holder i was going like twice a month lol. when its free it becomes a great place to just hang out alone and free your mind and contemplate
I keep coming back to this video to appreciate the perspective of Wyeth. I just say Christina’s world in person it’s breath taking. Thank you for. This insightful essay on my favorite work of art
I saw this painting when I was a little girl,( I`m 70 now) and since then Weyth has been one of my favorite painters. He paints for the soul.
This is one of the few prints I have. I've always felt a sense of longing and loss in the painting.
I had been obsessed with this painting ever since I saw it for the first time. Thank you for making this video!
I had never seen Christina’s World before this video. I now love it. I have an autistic daughter... and one not autistic. It reminds me try to see our home through there eyes, through there world.
Honestly she the woman feels like she’s filled with a deep longing.
i guess you watched War on Everyone aswell
The only thing ruining this comment is the "Honestly" at the beginning
yeah, I always imagined her saying "wait!" to someone who had already left. I guess partly because the pink dress seems very romantic, like she was on a date that went badly or ended too soon. That was the story that popped into my head when I first saw it. But then again, I was also sixteen when I first saw this painting.
That's what I've always gotten out of it. The twist of her torso is a position you can't hold very long, and she's digging both hands in the dirt and leaning her whole body toward that house. Like she's longing to get there so deeply she'll crawl the whole way if she has to. Which it sounds like the inspiration for the painting really did.
@@sleepingdogpro yes she looked to crawl and or the person Wyeth referenced to had some kind of deceas that forced her to crawl. I think the commentator said that she liked to do it. The woman that really lived in a house maybe somewhat like the scene. Actually he used his wife's figure to express the girl. I love this. She is struggling with probably more than a couple things in her mind..
I live in Argentina. I always liked to paint. Never was a good painter. But I bought a lot of art books, and one day I descovered Wyeth's " Cristina's World". I remember thinking: "This is the most beautiful painting in the world.".
Five years ago I could travel to New York. And of course I went to the Met. And there, before my astonished eyes I was face to face with the original "Cristina's World". Tears came, of course. A dream was full filled at last.
I remember at art class in middle school, they had a picture of this in the textbook, and of coarse a was rather bored by class so I would just stare at this painting that I found in the back of the book. Its so simple yet captured my attention for hours and hours.
I don’t know if I’m thrilled or sad to finally hear about Christina, cause a big part of my intrigue was the mystery of what she was doing. We had one assignment in art class was to talk about the painting, analyzing it to try to figure out what Christina’s world was about. We all agreed that the emotion of the painting was terror, and that Christina was probably a young woman being domestically abused. Couldn’t have been more wrong! But the fact I care that much shows how good the painting is.
I grew up in Chadds Ford just like Wyeth. I would look around and see all these wonderful landscapes and know that his art was living and breathing around me. It’s such a break from the rest of the area and I truly appreciate his works of art that capture the place I call home.
I love these videos. I'd love to try my hand at a video in this style but for miniature figure art. Thank you for the inspiration.
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One day I'll have a print of each painting Nerdwriter1 has broken down
Your art/painting video essay never cease to bring out all sorts of emotions. Well done.
One of my favorite paintings. I never saw any calm in the piece at all. It's always filled me with a sense of loss and longing. There is a deep, unbreathing part of my soul that is touched every time I look at it.
Transported to a different world, a different place, for just a few minutes. Thank you.
i love looking through the comments of this video and reading everyone’s different interpretations of the painting, it’s so cool
Agree!!
This is my absolute favorite painting of all time. It just expresses so much feeling and emotion, in a way I can’t explain. I love it 🥰
A nerdwriter upload about painting always makes my day
His videos on paintings are always my favorites
As a person who isn't into art so to say. I really must say that I always enjoy your work. It's really interesting to me because it's completely out of my scope of interests. I don't even know how or when, but one day I just stumbled upon some video of yours and it grabbed me. And ever since I watch these video essays from you and others with a keen interest. Thank you!
My teacher mentioned that this painting also has a very high horizon line to help us see the world like as if we were on the ground.
Your videos are of the highest quality out of any channels I watch. Every word has impact and you never tell us too much or too little.
Going to watch it twice.
Visit the Brandywine River museum in Chadds Ford PA if you want to look into his and his family's work more. I grew up right by there it's like 40 minutes outside Philadelphia definitely worth the visit.
Wyeth = say the most with the least interference - Christina = Courage and tenacity! I love this.
Why is there tears in my eyes....? Your language and his language, complement each other beautifully
my grandfather was painted by Andrew Wyeth (the black hunter) his name was David Lawrence.
was he compensated for the use of his image? I wonder if Christine ever got paid something, even just a little bit for making Andrew Weyth famous
In 1969, a fellow art student and I hitch hiked from Ohio to Chadd's Ford, PA to meet Andrew Wyeth. We finally made it to his house, catching rides thru the Allegheny Mountains for 2 days. He not only invited us in, he showed us around, took us into the big mill building and his paintings on the walls and floors of the upper room....then he invited us to stay the night, letting us sleep in the 3rd of three buildings called the "Granary" Next morning we were greeted by Mrs. Wyeth and she had breakfast made for us. Andy was already gone to the studio....what an experience.
It’s these commentaries that made me fall in love with this channel. Please keep doing this!!
Nature is the ultimate source of inspiration, from the colors of the seasons, the cycle of life, the batlles of survivles, to the calmness.. it's all there, you just have to become transparent to see it like he said..
Thank you so much for this, and for all of your videos man!
my grandmother had a print of this from the 70s above her bed and she would make up stories about the girl for me and my siblings, i didn't know how famous it was
I grew up 10 miles from the Wyeth family estate in Bucks County, PA. I didn't realize how famous Andrew and his father N.C. were until I left home. They are/were national treasures.
The most underrated UA-camr ever, please never stop making videos, they’re all outstanding
I’ve known this painting for years and years but I was recently in NYC and turned a corner in MOMA to find it in person, unexpectedly. Out of everything I saw in all the New York museums, this stuck with me the most. Impacted me beyond words. And tonight I stumbled upon this video made rather recently. It makes me so happy. Only a few paintings have stricken me speechless in person: Guernica and Las Meninas in Madrid, and Christina’s World in New York City.
This is very timely - there is an N.C Wyeth (Andrew Wyeth's father and an accomplished illustrator/painter) exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art right now. Incredible show of a great artist, and you can definitely see the father's influence on his son's later work. If you're anywhere close to Maine I'd recommend giving it a look.
A print of this painting was in every single one, of the 20 Elementary schools, I went to as a child. In Montana, Washington, and Massachusetts. Once when I had finished a test early, and was bored with no new book to read, the teacher suggested I write what I thought was happening in the painting to fill the time.
Now 40 + years later when I am teaching Art, and Art History, all over the world, your amazing video and perceptive portrayal of Andrew Wyeth's work brings tears to my eyes. All of your videos are utterly stellar. I look forward to discovering every one.
This painting gives me flashbacks to elementary school when I thought it was so cool that it was called Christina’s world
I first came across 'Christina's World' in a very trying time in my life. Something about the painting immediately resonated with me on a fundamental level. I identified with her perceived loneliness and sense of longing as she leaned toward the house, grasping the grass. I would gaze at it for hours, and as I did, a strange sense of comfort would build up inside me. Things got better and now I have a very large framed print of 'Christina's World' hanging in my room. It's the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night. It's now a part of my world.
Andrew Wyeth is mine and my dad's favorite artist. Such an interesting person and style of painting.
I've never seen this painting before but as soon as I saw it it reminded me of the landscapes we have here in Ireland. In the vast outdoors where the land can stretch untouched for miles except for a few smattering of life like in this painting. I don't see any tension in the painting except in my minds eyes I imagine the woman in it caught in the moment of suddenly whipping back to look at the house even stumbling as she makes her way to it. Here you can get lost in the sprawl of the country, feel overwhelmed by it. The woman is not posed facing towards the viewer but instead looks back toward her home. I feel to me it represents the connection we feel to our homes whatever feelings of escape or boredom or unease which we may have towards it it's still home, our place in this wasteland no matter how indistinct or unimportant. The colours even remind me of my home muted and brown but still you can spend all day discovering nww details if you only cared to look. This painting reminds me that it really is us that makes nature truly beautiful as people like Wyeth take the courtesy to notice and capture it such as this.
Breathtaking, really should have ended with a longer pause of silence to reminisce before the commercial tail end.
I always look at Wyeth’s paintings for a while every time I go to the Brandywine River Art Museum. It’s also great that a good number of the staff knew Wyeth well whether personally or through extensive research. Christina’s World as well as his storybook illustrations are mesmerizing.
Thank you for sharing the story of this painting! :)
I wish I had this much information for every painting I have ever seen
From neat looking painting that raises bit of melancholy and peaceful isolation you taken me through the history behind it and details in it, that broaden the reception to the point of wanting to escape this view. Life has so many levels of perception. Thank you for bringing this beauty.
The music and narration is stellar. Immersed me into the subject.
Every time I get to the end of your videos I suddenly notice the aspect ratio. And then I'm reminded how brilliant that decision was and how much sense it makes and inspires me to move forward with my own creative choices. Well crafted video.
During the intro when he said “when I put it, it was right” This is to me, what art is? I don’t know how to explain it per se, but it was beautiful to hear
My grandma had a copy of this painting. She kept it in the hallway. She had many paintings, including a huge copy of Klimt's "The Kiss," but I always liked Christina's World best. She died last summer, and we got the painting. We keep it over the fireplace. It feels to me like freedom, like running in the middle of nowhere, like finding pieces of a past life. She is youth and curiosity embodied. Hell, I don't know. I just don't think I'll ever stop thinking about it.
Great video, as always.
One of my favourite paintings. I remember seeing this at MoMA and I got lost staring at it.
Truth be told, this video was the first time I’d heard of this artist. And while there’s a lovely appeal to more abstract art, there’s something to be said about the power you get from seeing a painting so firmly based in reality, able to pick up a part of the world and just lay it out on a canvas, with nothing more than a brush, some paint, and a hand
I love how this video has aspect ratio of that painting.
The color is so serene, relax, nature. The master’s bedroom painting is another painting that makes you relax.
Interesting, the serenity you mentioned. I didn’t feel it. This painting immediately made me uneasy. The colors combined with the stress I saw in Christine.
I've never seen this guy's paintings before. But they are incredible.
The angle and the observation of the paintings are like there is no observer. There is no person observing. It's the space between us, where no mind exists, somehow observing.
He says as if eyes could see it, but that be all. But there are no eyes. It's what we see, but in a way we never see it at the same time.
Incredible.
I like how I can almost hear the wind looking at some of his paintings.
I live in Andrew’s hometown, right next to Cushing, Maine, and have seen this house. There is a wonderful museum called The Farnsworth that shows many of his paintings, only 15 minutes from my house. He is an absolutely amazing artist.
It has a ominous feel, like she is running and witnessing something wrong/dangerous back at the house...
Your work is such an important contribution to this platform. It reminds me to be more thoughtful of the gravity of subtle moments in life and art. You're such a talent, and we're lucky to have you.
Fred Armisen also did a history of this painting, should definitely give it a watch
As did Michael Palin.
Thank you for this beautiful video essay. I have always loved Andrew Wyeth, and now see an added element to his paintings. It was interesting to hear his own philosophy and thoughts about painting as well. I also appreciate the great writing and narrative voice you provide.
Look at that tyre trail heading towards or away from the house on right.
I love this video so much. Wyeth is one of my all-time favorite painters and I remember very vividly going to an exhibition of his works in Atlanta. I was floored by the intricacies of the landscapes, the monochromatic color palettes, and the fine, frail details (specifically the fabrics)...I still get chills just thinking about his works.
If there's an afterlife, any afterlife, I always hoped it would make me a silent observer of humanity.
Like being a ghost with eyes and ears. Not influencing anything. Just observing. Perhaps that's heaven? Hell even a few billion years from now when all the stars burn out, and the Universe is more black holes than space, I wonder what in that near eternal darkness we'll see?
Damm, this comment got me feelings all kinds of deep.
you might really like the movie Ghost Story. honestly, it put me in a horrible funk for a day, but it's beautiful and I'm glad I saw it
“Death must be so beautiful.
To lie in the soft brown earth with grass waving above one’s head, and listen to silence.
To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow.
To forget time, to forgive life, and be at peace”
- Oscar Wilde
To me, that sounds like hell. To watch others suffer, and be unable to intervene? Sure, there might be some beautiful vistas, but eventually all of your favorite characters would die eventually. It seems much worse than just no longer existing.
hi. you made me think. i like you.
Wyeth..... I enjoy his work, very much. I feel so deeply drawn to the sparse, subdued, softness with which he viewed the world. I have some prints here in my home, and after many years, still stop and....look.....they almost emit..calm.. for me. Thank you, for another opportunity to admire this great artist.
This is so much better than a paid art class!
Idk. It sounds like you've never taken full advantage of the class.
Andrew Wyatt is my favorite artist. I grew up in Pennsylvania very near where he painted and where He lived. As I've gotten older, I've really learned to appreciate his art and taken what he sabout, appreciating nature.
So it's called "Christina's World" because she literally can't or won't leave it, right?
Or that it is bigger than you might think.
When I finally got to see the actual painting I spent half an hour looking at it. About 20 minutes in I was hit with a strong sense of sadness and loss. His dad had just died and he put those emotions into every blade of grass
I remember seeing this paining in MOMA and thinking that this was a woman that was wanting, desiring, almost desperate for something...brilliant painting
I really like paintings, not only Wyeth's but all painting genre like this. I love looking in this painting because I feel that they are telling something that everyone guess to understand and that is way too amazing.
I don't know why, I really don't know why, but I crying like a child!
Michael Palin has a longer exploration of Wyeth and that's also here on UA-cam.
i grew up with several wyeth prints on the walls on my father’s home- andrew, nc, and jamie all in our living room. i used to stare at their works, lost in the details. i never knew the artists until i was a teenager. when i learned they were three generations of artists, it added a special level of meaning for me. even now, i find myself studying those prints when i return to my father’s home. they capture the imagination still.
This guy is brilliant...wish he’d post more😢
You have a way of explaining art like no other. Every time I watch a nerd writer video I walk away with a new appreciation for the art featured. This is one of the few channels that I allow upload notifications because your work is always quality. I hope you continue to make videos forever!
This painting was hanging in my drs office when I was a child. It wasn't until I brought my own children to that same drs office that I finally understood it.
Beautiful essay ❤️ it’s serendipitous that you posted this today because I’ve spent the entirety of this fall semester researching Wyeth and designing a booklet about his life and work and I’m literally turning it in at 6pm tonight. I chose him for the assignment precisely because of the sort of wild, breathless quality his art has. Glad to know his work speaks volumes even to this day.
Man, Christina be dummy-THICC
This video brought out beautiful tears thank you so much! I mean that from the bottom of my heart man.
But does it have a banana attached to it with duct tape
The Art Assignment vlog has a great explanation of the banana. It's more complex than one would think.
This is the kind of stuff I learned in my art color an composition class in terms of movement. Its so incredible!!
“That doesnt mean its any better than a painting by Jackson Pollock”. Yes, it does. Beauty is objective.
W. T. Jennings It’s not so simple. There are technical judgements, colour composition proportion etc but also personal emotional connections. Why do some people love a painting that others are indifferent too. So I LOVE Blue Poles by Jackson Pollock, but other paintings by him leave me cold. Reproductions don’t convey the experience of seeing the original. Similarly, there are millions of realistic paintings that are technically better than this. So why is this so special to me. They are many people who don’t like either painting. What about paintings from different cultures? Can you compare them? Our own personal histories inform our response to a piece of art.
Thank you for the commentary on this masterpiece I learned about maybe a year ago. It gives me a haunted dream feeling. Like trying to run up hill under water and your legs are heavy and slow and you're off balance and you hope to make it up to the surface before you run out of breath and drown and in the back of your mind your hoping someone sees you and reaches down and grabs you to pull you up to the surface before your breath runs out.