by Romare Bearden, 1941


How many geometric shapes can you find in this painting?

Move your mouse over the painting to see some of these geometric shapes.

Who do you think the characters in this painting are?

What do you notice about the colors in this painting?


Imagine this is a scene from a movie. Make up a story about what is happening, and read what other kids have written:


Your first name: Your age:
Your city and state:

Bearden with his cat, 1972.

This painting by the African-American artist Romare Bearden depicts a group of cotton workers from the American South. Bearden tried to express the history and daily life of African-Americans through art. The long sacks you see slung over their shoulders are for gathering cotton. These men and women spent long hours working in cotton fields for a living.

The artist probably wanted us to remember that fewer than 100 years before he painted this, these African-American workers would have been working as slaves on a cotton plantation. Notice how the faces of the people are not very detailed. They represent all the countless Black farmers and workers Bearden met while growing up in the South.

Bearden makes his everyday scene more interesting to look at by exaggerating the colors. The unrealistic colors -- turquoise sky, navy blue clouds, and orange grass -- add energy and feeling to the scene. Colors can often suggest feelings or moods, such as blue for feeling sad and yellow for feeling happy. Try printing out the picture and coloring it in your own colors!

Bearden also played with shapes in this picture. He simplified everything -- even the people's bodies -- into geometric shapes like triangles and squares. In fact, the shapes are so clear and bright that it looks as if they could have been cut out of colored paper and pasted right onto the surface.