Iconography
The focus of the assignment is the painting Dempsey and Firpo by George Bellows. The work depicts one of the most significant boxing matches in the history of the sport in the 20th century and is probably the most famous painting of the author. On the canvas, George Bellows portrayed Luis Firpo knocking Jack Dempsey out of the boxing ring, making one assume that Firpo has eventually won the match. However, both the painting and the narrative behind it are more complicated and require a thorough analysis. Therefore, two methodologies, iconography and critical race theory, were chosen to further investigate the painting in the current assignment.
The first method of analysis of the artwork is iconography. It is a methodology that allows to further understand the motives and objectives of the painting utilizing the narrative and cultural context behind it. Concerning Dempsey and Firpo, iconography is especially effective since additional information is required to fully comprehend the painting. As mentioned before, on the canvas, Firpo knocks Dempsey, the world champion of the time, out of the ropes and is portrayed as a winner of the match. That was indeed a notable moment in the history of sports, however, Firpo eventually lost that match in the second round, and Dempsey continued his winning streak.
Another reason why the iconography methodology is relevant for the current artwork is the cultural context of the time. Essentially, Dempsey and Firpo differs drastically from the rest of the paintings in the boxing series by George Bellows. The author mainly depicted the back-room amateur matches that were frequently brutal, non-professional, and might have often been seemed like two men trying to kill each other. From this perspective, Dempsey and Firpo is the first work of the author that displays a grand match with thousands of viewers.
Critical Race Theory
The second chosen methodology for this assignment is critical race theory. Frequently, the current method is used to investigate the artworks depicting the African-American community or the paintings done by the members of minority groups. Dempsey and Firpo differs from them since boxing at the beginning of the 20th century was mostly a white sport, and George Bellows also does not represent minority groups. However, this is exactly why the painting is relevant in the methodology of critical race theory. Luis Ángel Firpo was the first Latin American sportsman in the history of boxing in the United States to challenge the world champion. Despite eventually losing the match, Firpo has achieved a great reputation throughout the whole of Latin America and inspired thousands of people from minority groups in their sports careers.
George Bellows depicted not only the objective reality but also conveyed the emotions of the athletes to the viewers. Charles Brock stated, “he captures reality almost at every level: visceral reality, the atmosphere of the ring, but also the psychological reality of how it actually feels” (“The Art of Boxing”). Due to such a presentation, aspiring competitors from the whole of America could see that is possible to get to the highest tier of boxing despite belonging to minority groups. Furthermore, shortly after the fight, the representation of the African-American and Latin American communities in the scene has increased drastically. Naturally, the painting itself did not promote the change, but it symbolized the end of the mono-ethnic competition. Therefore, from the perspective of critical race theory, Dempsey and Firpo was the artwork of significant relevance for the minority groups at the beginning of the 20th century and is still a remarkable painting today.
Work Cited
“‘The Art of Boxing’ — ‘George Bellows’ at the National Gallery of Art, Washington”.YouTube, uploaded by National Gallery of Art, 2012.