| My aim in creating this web site is to explore Walt Whitman's
influence on the visual arts. I am specifically interested in Whitmanian
painters; that is, painters who have been profoundly influenced by
Whitman's poetry. Poets since Whitman have an immense debt to his work,
and my argument in this site is that painters have a similar debt to
Whitman. The amazing thing about Whitman's poetry is that it can so easily
be visualized -- when reading Leaves of Grass you can see what he's
seeing, feel what he's feeling. Joseph Stella, Vincent Van Gogh, and
Thomas Eakins are the three painters I've chosen to explore. I hope to
illustrate the relationship between their paintings and Whitman's poems,
ultimately proving that Walt Whitman's influence is not limited to the
"Poets to come! orators, singers, musicians to come!" (Whitman 175).
Whitman underestimated himself, for his legacy expanded to the discipline
of painting.
The years of Whitman scholarship have produced some important ideas on
Whitman's role in painting. But as we move into an era of electronic
technology, print culture can no longer provide the same effects as in its
past. I have provided exemplary paintings where relevant, so the viewer
can both read and see Whitman's role in painting. I also have given links
for the viewer to further examine a particular painter. The information is
simply a click of the mouse away. That is why this project is ideally
suited for the Internet -- to argue Whitman's influence on the visual
arts, I must have visuals.
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