Artist throughout time have used their creative abilities to address issues and themes of their own cultures. This has been going on since early prehistoric times and it even continues today. One example of an artist who uses his own culture to create a theme in a work of art is Thomas Sully in his art piece Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire. This painting expertly expresses a theme describing human nature. More specifically, this painting shows how true humanity is revealed in hard times.
Thomas Sully was an American portrait painter who was born in 1783, Sully lived through many political and economic issues through his time, however, during 1830 to 1840, many economic crises threatened the United States, making luxury portraits not as needed…show more content… The area around the heroine is very dark and messy with pots and pans everywhere. The heroine herself seems to e=be sitting in the ashes of the fire. Now, despite this dark and dreary feel to the area around her, cinderella herself is seen wearing light colors with the light, most probably from a window, is seen illuminating her. This was most likely done for two reasons. One is an effort to draw attention to her and make her the center of the portrait. The other effect the lighting has is making Cinderella appear as though she is the light in the dark, making it evident that she is in fact the heroine and protagonist of this piece. This shows Cinderella’s happiness in hard times as she has taken time away from her busy workload to play with her cat. Another piece of evidence of her happiness is the small smile present on her face. In this piece Cinderella shows one side of human nature, one that most people would call the good side.
On the other hand, although it is less visible in the background, there is the other side of human nature. There are two figures in the background who appear to be fixing themselves in the mirror. Since the story behind this piece is known, one can most easily infer that these figures are the ‘evil’ stepsisters getting ready for the prince’s
