UTOPIAN PROMISE - Annenberg Media

[1351] Anonymous, Elizabeth Clarke
Freake (Mrs. John Freake) and Baby
Mary (about 1671 and 1674), courtesy
of the Worcester Art Museum.
“PLAIN STYLE” WEB
ARCHIVE
[1223] Anonymous, John Freake
(1671–74), courtesy of the Worcester
Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts.
The unknown artist called the “Freake
Painter” painted this likeness of John
Freake, a Boston merchant. Like the
other works attributed to the Freake
Painter (scholars have identified a group
of eight portraits painted in or near
Boston in 1670–74), this painting is
defined by its intricate detail, in combination
with a rigidity in the subject’s
posture. John Freake’s upright stiffness
suggests his high moral stature as a
public figure in the spiritual community
of Boston.
[1351] Anonymous, Elizabeth Clarke
Freake (Mrs. John Freake) and Baby
Mary (about 1671 and 1674), courtesy
of Worcester Art Museum, Worcester,
46 UNIT 3, UTOPIAN PROMISE
gious decorations we tend to expect in houses of worship. Instead,
Puritan and Quaker meetinghouses are consciously spare, defined by
their linear design, exposure of structural supports, and open lighting.
The unpretentious interiors have no carvings or altars (Quaker meetinghouses
would not even have pulpits), creating unadorned spaces
that allow congregants to concentrate on their individual relationships
with God. These structures express the ideals of plain style and serve
as examples of a distinctly American architecture.
Some seventeenth-century American paintings also reveal the influence
of the plain-style aesthetic. The portraits of the Freake family
painted by an unidentified Boston artist in the 1670s are characterized
by a flatness of form and a precise linearity that render the human figures
somewhat two-dimensional and deprive the subjects of sensuous,
tactile qualities. While the portraits’ depiction of the rich fabrics and
expensive finery that mark the Freakes as a wealthy mercantile family
is somewhat at odds with Puritan plain-style ideals, the flat, simple
artistic style of the paintings shares in the plain-style aesthetic.
Plain-style ideals also shaped the development of literature among
Puritan and Quaker writers. Though many Puritans used elaborate,
highly ornate metaphorical language to convey their religious ideals,
some developed a more simplified literary style (most famously
William Bradford). Characterized by the absence of rhetorical flourishes
and limited use of figurative language, texts composed in the
plain-style tradition focus on making their meanings straightforward
and accessible. When metaphors appear within plain-style texts, they
usually derive from the Bible or refer to homely, everyday objects
rather than classical allusions. But the restraint of plain-style writing
does not signify a lack of artistry; rather, it can be elegant, powerful,
and persuasive in its very simplicity.
QUESTIONS
Comprehension: Why would early congregants of the churches featured
in the archive have found them architecturally suitable for
Puritan or Quaker spiritual practices? What “plain-style” characteristics
are visible in the construction of these churches? How does
the plain style aesthetic embodied in this architecture complement
Quaker and Puritan religious values and beliefs?
Context: Puritan poets Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor are sometimes
identified as plain stylists and sometimes seen as part of other
poetic traditions (such as classical, ornate, or metaphysical). When
does their work seem to participate in the plain-style aesthetic?
When does it seem to be doing something different? Do some topics
or concepts lend themselves better to plain-style representation?
Exploration: Do you see the plain-style aesthetic as an influence on
any later American art or literary movements? Do these later turns
toward plainness and simplicity reflect the same values as the
Puritan and Quaker use of plain style?