Our other example is by the acclaimed American artist, Jacob Lawrence, noted for his depiction of both the history and everyday life experiences of his fellow African Americans.

As in the Vermeer, rectilinear and triangular shapes appear to be dominant in this work. A muscular male figure is working with a chisel on a small piece of wood; a great variety of carpenter's tools are depicted. The mountain shape in the background (an allusion to Mount Rainier near Seattle's University of Washington, where Lawrence was a professor of art) seems to echo the monumental figure of the woodworker in the foreground. Although the shapes are similar to the Vermeer, colors are brighter, value contrasts are much stronger, and objects are rendered less realistically. The expressive consequences of these properties result in a dynamic tribute to the importance of this worker's task. But what were the forces behind this work? Why does it look this way?

Jacob Lawrence was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 7th, 1917. When he was thirteen his family moved to New York City. Jacob was enrolled in an after school arts and crafts program where he began to show an obvious talent, which was nurtured further at the Harlem Community Art Center. Living in New York offered many opportunities for exposure to very important historical and contemporary artists.

The range of art works and their creators that apparently inspired Lawrence includes: genre paintings by the great Flemish master, Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1525? -1569); works depicting the horrors of war and poverty by the German expressionist, Kathe Kollwitz (1867-1945); paintings that exalt the efforts of workers by the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1906-1987); and the flat, brightly colored compositions of the American abstractionist, Arthur Dove (1880-1946). Such sources coupled with living in a place where the beat of the Jazz Age was all pervasive resulted in Lawrence developing his own unique style. His works employ a compositional language that combines aspects of cubism,strong, flat colors, and a flair for draftsmanship, characterization and narration. Builders #1 reflects these attributes. It is from his most successful series of genre paintings.