IntroductionSlavery is an important part of American history and explains why America was shaped the way it is Today. Many artists captured the raw images of slavery in their paintings during this time so that we can better understand these inconceivable acts today. The works created by the artists leave us with a number of questions and many different interpretations. When we think of slavery, we think of African Americans being mistreated and brutalized because of the color of their skin. It was much more than that. An interesting thing in the story is the relationship between African American women and white women. Nowadays, we see women as warm and caring people who have a lot of love and compassion in their hearts. After studying the images and literature, white women were almost as horrible as white men during the era of slavery. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay A Visit From the Old Mistress by Winslow Homer tells a thought-provoking story. Homer is famous for showing his emotions through his images and not showing action. When looking at A Visit From the Old Mistress, a white woman is shown on the right with three African American women and an African American baby on the left. There was no action or anything climactic in the picture. None of them look happy to see each other. They had very stern and serious faces. The way the African American women carried themselves was also unwelcoming. It was a very private moment in a private space, and almost uncomfortable. Analyzing the image, it appears that the African American women were wondering why the white woman had come to see them. One could interpret that she was asking them to come back and work for her. We know from research that the three African American women were once the slaves of the white woman. What stands out in this image is the difference between the white woman and the slave closest to her. The slave girl is dressed in clothes that are not considered lavish while the white woman wears her dark black dress and appears to have a lighter face than the others. The woman on the far left has a composure you could barely read. She also sits, without getting up for the Old Mistress. This sends a feeling of distrust and mistrust. What was most fascinating about this image was that it was made in 1876, ten years after the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. The fact that the Old Mistress returned may have sent warning signals to these women. What might be represented from this image depends on its interpreters. Maybe the Old Mistress was just saying “hello,” maybe she wanted them to come work for her, maybe she had something to say to the African American women. We will never really know. Either way, none of these women look happy to see each other again. Even if the picture remains neutral, the message is clear. They didn't love each other. 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup is about the relationship his fellow slave Patsey had between master and mistress. Northup described Patsey as a light and faithful woman, always obedient. However, Patsey fought the hardest against all the slaves. Her master would rape her, then his wife would get jealous and beat her too. Patsey couldn't win. Regardless, she was brutally beaten. Northup mentioned that nothing pleased the mistress morethan seeing Patsey suffer. Connecting it to the image, A Visit from the Old Mistress, shows how much tension was created at that time. The situation was probably the same between the slaves and the mistress. The mistress probably brutalized them for any sexual relations they had with her husband. This image embodies the true feelings that women had for each other. Edmonia Lewis was the first African-American woman sculptor in history. His sculpture of Forever Free (The Morning of Liberty) arouses curiosity. Edmonia Lewis is known to have had damaging experiences with the black community. She also represented about a quarter of the Chippewa heritage, of which she was most proud. When she talks about African-American people, she calls them "my father's people." His journey is quite different from most. She was born under the name "Wildfire". Her mother died when she was four years old and was then raised by the Chippewa tribe until she was twelve. In the book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs talks about her life as a slave. His mother had a white adopted sister and they grew up together. His mother was considered his servant once they were older, but she was incredibly loyal to him. The mistress was very kind to her and promised to take care of Harriet and her siblings after she died. She kept her word. Harriet had felt free. Lewis was a troubled child, as she was accused of poisoning two white classmates and theft. She was eventually cleared of the charges against her, but she was unable to graduate from college. Edmonia Lewis was dedicated to her works of art. She and Harriet Hosmer spent a lot of time looking for marble in Italy. They were the epitome of strength when it came to women struggling to become artists taken seriously in the 19th century. When you watch Forever Free, you see a curly-haired man freed from his chains. With curly hair, we assume he is a free African American, perhaps his father. It is difficult to say what race this woman belongs to. We can assume this is because Lewis identified slaves as potentially mixed race, as she was of mixed race. The woman in the mold is kneeling and still remains chained. One might immediately think that this form represents the celebration of the abolition of slavery. It is believed that the woman was grateful for the proclamation made by Lincoln. In this context, it seems that Lewis sees the man as free, but not the woman, because this was at a time when women were not yet taken seriously. White masters became African American masters after abolition. Women remained the property of men. When I relate this mold to the experiences of Harriet Jacobs, I think of the time when Harriet felt free. Edmonia Lewis had clearly struggled to feel free because of the mold she had created of the chained African American woman. Harriet Jacobs knew she was a slave, but she didn't feel like one. Deep down, she knew she belonged to him and she couldn't leave. African American women felt this way, even after slavery was abolished. African American men may have been free, but women were still restricted and tied to their husbands. They were not allowed to leave. The mold also depicts the woman tied and kneeling while the man was free from his chains. Harriet Cany Peale painted her mistress's clothes in 1848. This image is instantly alarming and very simple. It seems that the mistress had dressed the slave like a doll and wanted to have fun with her. Peale also made the slave lessattractive as the mistress. This image represents the hierarchy of white women in relation to African American women. The white woman looks quite young, but the slave looks significantly younger. One could assume that it was a child of a servant. Another feature that stands out in this image is the placement of the white girl's hand on the slave's neck. It looks like she's trying to strangle him, but there's a mirror in front of her. One might assume that the white girl is forcing her to look at herself and see what the white woman sees. It could also be assumed that the white girl threatens the slave and lets him know that any displeasure could result in punishment. Solomon Northup recounts in 12 Years a Slave that his master Epps liked to make him play the violin and organize dances. His master shouted at the dancing slaves and if one of them took a break, he was whipped and beaten. His mistress scolded her husband and threatened to leave, but she also laughed. These actions were contradictory and showed how conflicted women felt during this time. They had a lot of hatred in their hearts for the slaves, but deep down, perhaps they felt incredibly bad for them. This ties in with this image, her mistress's clothes, as the mistress dresses the slave and shows herself in the mirror. She smiled looking at herself. It makes me feel like they had some sort of relationship, maybe when they were younger because they knew innocence. These three images are all related because they illustrate how African Americans were viewed during the era of slavery. Nowadays we assume they were treated poorly, but the artwork really shows us that that's what people actually thought of them. What was interesting was that they were all perceived differently by people from different backgrounds. Edmonia Lewis was an African American woman who always had a low opinion of African Americans, but only because her father was a freed slave and she was raised by Native Americans. She believed that women were still bound to their masters, even after the abolition of slavery. Harriet Cany Peale didn't necessarily seem to have negative feelings toward slaves, but she made it clear that if they ever made her angry, she wouldn't react well. The image of Winslow Homer was the most telling. You could see all the emotion on the faces of each individual, white and African American. His image represented so much emotion that it was hard not to feel uncomfortable looking at him. The image depicted the exact tension that existed in the relationship between African American women and white women, slaves and mistresses. ConclusionWinslow Homer showed his emotion and that of the slaves and white women in his image to the fullest. He made it clear that white women and African American women did not care about each other at all. Their stance and facial expressions speak volumes in the uneventful image he has created. Some of them had nurturing aspects of their personalities, like Harriet Jacob's mistress. The white woman in his mistress's clothes had nurturing tendencies, however, she made it clear to him not to be disloyal to her. It was rare, however, to be rewarding. Most women were considered cruel and each artist represented them in their own way. Edmonia Lewis' sculpture showed that she struggled with racial identity since she was an African American growing up in a Native American tribe. However, she still believed that women did not have the same rights as men after.