Project - Myth is a type of speech - Form and Meaning

"Penn's Treaty with the Indians"

1771-1772

Artist: Benjamin West

from website of Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts

www.pafa.org

Annotation:

1 William Penn;  2 Buildings;  3 Trader;  4 Bolt of Cloth;  5 Native Americans;  6 Nursing Mother;         7 Young Indian child pointing towards central characters; 8 Chest/Trunk; 9 Treaty; 10 Settlers?;             11 Ships.

The image was painted some 50 years after the event in response to a commission given by a relative of Penn's to the artist. There are no contemporary paintings and works by other artists rely upon West's rendition. There are even doubts whether the event actually took place. There is no written record of the Treaty nor any indication of when it took place, if at all. Some historians suggest that the date of the treaty was 23rd June 1683 when Penn purchased two tracts of land from Tamanend (the chief or sachem of the tribe Lenni Lenapes) and his associates. If this was the case then the trees in full leaf in West's painting can be considered a reasonable representation of the time of year. However others claim it occurred in late November, shortly after Penn arrived in the colony. In that case the trees would be bare.

I take the 'form' to be the painting itself without 'meaning' attached. It has physical presence in the real world, it can be touched, moved or acted upon in any other way that is possible because of its physicality. My annotation points towards the elements that I see as being part of the 'form'. These elements remain largely unchanged by any action taken upon the 'form'. The difficulty lies in seeing these elements without 'meaning" but as swathes of colour, light and dark. Even by annotating the picture the suggestion of 'meaning' is strongly indicated because the reader will almost inevitably ascribe meaning to  the individual words.  One analogy that I came across whilst researching the background for this project was that of a dollar note - the 'meaning' lies in what I perceive I can do with it i.e. purchase desired objects. I do nothing with it other than exchange it for goods. Its 'form' is the note itself with the design on both sides including words and pictograms. Again it has a physical presence.

Lets now look at the individual elements of the Treaty picture and suggest possible meanings.

1 William Penn - Here we see the dominant figure in the image. He is standing centre stage so that he is 'above' the Indians present. The overall effect is to underline his superior status among all the others that are gathered, particularly the natives. It implies that this is not a meeting between equals but between someone who can bring unspecified benefits to the 'uncivilised'.

2 Buildings - It is highly unlikely that such buildings existed at this time and certainly not if the occasion of Penn purchasing land. It is a product of the artists familiarity with English paintings (he was living in London at the time) where the property of the landowner is often present somewhere in the landscape because it underlines the wealth and standing of the subject of the image. It also has a second message that one presumes is there to show the importance of the settlers over the native population because the latter did not live in grand houses and are usually shown living in tepees.

3 Trader - Here we have the image of the honest trader bringing his goods to exchange or to purchase land. There is no indication of the trade in arms or the inequality of the exchanges.

4 Bolt of Cloth - Here the chief is being offered a bolt of cloth. One presumes it is a gift as a thank you for the signing of the treaty. It is offered as a product of a more advanced civilisation showing the benefits yet again of what the white man can produce with his greater skills and knowledge.

5 Native Americans - The noble savage. It should be noted that this part of the image is painted as though the group are in sunlight. It draws the eye to that part of the picture and is a common artifice amongst artists.

6 Nursing mother - A powerful inclusion that means all that motherhood and babies evokes emotionally. It is suggestive of peace and security and that the Indians fear nothing from their new found friends.

7 Young child pointing towards central characters. Placed next to the nursing mother, providing a small family group the child seems to have two purposes - one as the future and someone who will be most affected by the treaty that is being signed by the adults and secondly by pointing the child takes the eye back to the main event.

8 Chest/Trunk - Suggestive of travel, possible wealth and essentially of another culture.

9 Treaty - Despite being the subject of the picture it has been relegated to the shadows. Perhaps this is indicative of the uncertainty about the actual event that was around at that time.

10 Settlers - Strong fit men who have benefited from the decision to emigrate to the colonies. It is a message to all those that view the image that the New World is a land of opportunity. An advertisement to encourage others to follow the path of these two hearty individuals.

11 Ships - In the background we can see a number of ships. Again this has a feel of an English painting showing the strength of the Country as a trading nation.

So we have a painting of an event that may not have taken place painted some 50 years after the event. The artist did not have access to American Indians so the accuracy of the portrayal is open to doubt. Nor did he have any contemporary images of the settlers. The main characters were created by using members of his family as models. Yet it has acquired a status such that it is accepted as being a true part of American history. What it is is a piece of propaganda or a myth that adds credence to American's view of their noble history. It 'veracity' has been strengthened by the times that it has been used as a basis for work by other artists.