According to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (via the Smithsonian), Nast "did as much as any one man to preserve the Union and bring the war to an end." Santa Claus was just part of that. Many saints acquire followings, and its perhaps unsurprising that one known for saving children and at-risk young women would find widespread popularity. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Nast gives higher purpose to the horror of war in his multi-part depiction of the past lives of African Americans and the future Emancipation could bring them. The story of Santa Claus stems from a real man who started out as a monk and became the patron saint of children. Santa Claus and his reindeer fly across the top of the image and climb down the familys chimney on the left. By Alexandra KielyBA Art History (with honors)Alexandra is an art historian and writer from New Jersey. NY 10036. Nasts pen was powerful, and his cartoons could sway elections. He is credited with one particular miracle: liberating the city of Nancy, capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, from its Burgundian assailants. (Image by Alamy) Santa Claus, as drawn by Thomas Nast and, increasingly, by many others, became the standard bearer of the newly defined secular part of Christmas. Columbia's sympathetic gesture towards a wounded black soldier is a reply to a previous panel in which Southern landowners ask her forgiveness. He is believed to have donated doweries for three impoverished women and has brought murdered children back to life. Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. In 1875, Louis Prang, the father of the American Christmas card, printed a series of postcards with a Santa Claus in a red costume. On a Christmas cover of, The origin of the red color of Santa Claus outfit is a mystery. Its widely believed that todays Santa wears a red suit because thats the colour associated with CocaCola, but this isnt the case. He published his initial illustration of Santa Claus in his first year with the magazine. In exchange, Sinterklaas promises to visit them every year on his airborne sleigh and slip down the chimneys of this newly founded city to deliver gifts to the children. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red he's known for today. Nicholas was a historic 4th-century Greek saint (from an area now in modern day Turkey) who had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes left out for him. Over the next several years, Nast continued to draw Santa Claus in various cartoons and illustrations for Harpers Weekly. According to Mccullough Hall, Thomas Nast told his family that he wanted most to be remembered for this image. In 1822, the American writer Clement Clark Moore featured Santa Claus/Saint Nicholas heavily in his poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas. // cutting the mustard Sundblom drew on American illustrations and those of one of his compatriots, Jenny Nystrm (1854-1946). Even as Saint Nicholas was chased away from the Lutheran Protestant regions, he was welcomed in the Netherlands, despite its Calvinist majority. For many of us, the bearded present-giver in the red suit remains a time-honored part of the holiday season, long after were stopped believing hell have a present for us. Later images even showed him interacting with children. While his Civil War-era drawings are powerful, and his Santa Claus depictions forever etched on the American psyche in his rendition of Christmas's secular centerpiece, he is best known for attacking the political machine of William M. Tweed in New York City in the 1870s. A strong supporter of the Republican party, African-American rights, and abolitionism, Nast vigorously attacked all that he found to be corrupt and immoral in 19th-century American politics. You can find him in the department stores of Tokyo and Singapore as well as New York and London. When he was about 13-years-old he dropped out of regular school and next year he studied art with Theodore Kaufmann. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. It was the 1930s, in the middle of the depression, and not a happy time for many people. The drawing became so popular that is still widely reproduced today. Other artists, including Haddon Sundblom and J.C. Leyendecker, also contributed to the development of the Santa Claus character. Tweet. But Nast's racial attitudes like those of many other Americans were not without contradictions. Nast's depiction of Santa brought home the loneliness of war, the sadness of soldiers on the front, and the worry and heartache suffered by those at home. {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? Nast first drew Santa Claus for the 1862 Christmas season Harper's Weekly cover and cen. It is believed that the story about Santa Claus living at the North Pole may also have been a Nast creation. Saint Nicholas was borrowed from this Dutch tradition introduced in America by the earliest Dutch immigrants for political reasons: as a kind of antidote to Christmas, which was celebrated by the English enemy and by the British colonial monarchy. In the mid 19th century American illustrator, political cartoonist and Morristown resident Thomas Nast (1840-1902) was responsible for creating the Victorian image of Santa Claus that we still use today. In this poem inspired by the folk legends of the German, Dutch and Norwegian communities settled in the United States, one no longer recognizes the austere Bishop of Myra! Thomas Nast popularized the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant as political party symbols, and made the Tammany tiger, the emblem of a firefighting club associated with the Tammany Ring in New York, the symbol of ferocious and destructive political corruption. September 2, 1876 She wrote a series of articles exposing the corruption of Standard Oil. His portrayals of Santa Claus helped to create the enduring image of a jolly, white-bearded man in a red suit who brings gifts to children on Christmas Eve. Nast made 33 Harpers Christmas illustrations from 1863 through 1886, and almost all of them feature Santa. The most famous among them was Thomas Nast (1840-1902), a caricaturist of German descent and godfather of the American cartoon. This is because pre-19th century Christmas celebrations were less about presents and family than they were about drinking, feasting, and carousing. Which issue is the central focus of this cartoon about Boss Tweed? He gained weight, grew a beard, wore fur and kept his peddlers bag on his shoulder: a right jolly old elf. Nast immortalized this transformation in his best portraits, sometimes depicting his own children and his Morristown family home in New Jersey. His father was a musician in a military band with strong political opinions, and he decided the family would be better off living in America. His father, Joseph Thomas Nast, joined them in 1849 at the end of his enlistment. In this view of Southern justice, a Northerner and a black man are accused of murder and then lynched, while in another panel a Southern gentleman accused of murder is humorously chided by the court. The bag would become an integral part of our image of Santa, and it was first introduced in this 1863 Thomas Nast illustration. Dressed in robes, with a crown of holly in his head, Father Christmas was a Dionysus-like figure who livened up some pretty wild Christmas parties. s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', His image of Santa Claus was the inspiration for the Coca Cola companys modern Santa Claus. Arriving in New York City at the age of six, Nast first attended German language schools. Discover the best of France-Amrique every week in our newsletter. Nast did some painting in oil and book illustrations, but his fame rests on his caricatures and political cartoons. Where did he come from, why does he do it, and how does he accomplish this seemingly impossible task? The Basilica of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port, located about ten kilometers from Nancy, was dedicated to him in the 15th century. The jovial version of St. Nick popular in the U.S. wasn . Even more than a century after Nasts death, they beautifully evoke the magic and joy of Christmas to many viewers. Columbia asks, "Shall I Trust These Men, and Not This Man?". Publishing regularly in Harper's. Abraham Lincoln commented on Nast's work saying, "Thomas Nast was our best recruiting officer." His powerful cartoons stirred people into . She holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Hofstra University where she graduated with honors. Nasts Santa Claus clothes were neither red (as Coca-Colas Santa Claus would later be), nor green (as those of Saint Nicholas often were), but rather brown with short bristles, in accordance with the description contained in Clement Clark Moores poem A Visit from St. Nicholas (circa 1880), more commonly known as The Night Before Christmas: He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot; And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot. Thomas Nast and Santa Claus. The Atlanta-based company asked Haddon Sundblom, an illustrator of Swedish descent, to depict a paunchy, smiling Santa Claus, dressed in red, with ruddy cheeks and an elfish look. In this commentary on President Andrew Johnson's veto of the military government bill, Nast portrays the scales of justice favoring the South and the Confederate Army. Du Bois in Paris. Although other artists of the period sketched Santa Claus, Nast stands apart from the rest for his role in creating and popularizing the modern image of the Christmas figure. Conozca a la influyente autora y figura clave del Renacimiento de Harlem. . Nasts cartoons were among the first to portray Santa Claus as a plump, jolly old man with a white beard and a red suit, and his illustration of the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey are still used today. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red hes known for today. He supported Abraham Lincoln andPresident Abraham Lincolndescribed Nast as the best recruiting sergeant for the Union cause since his sketchesinspired readers to support the war effort. For inspiration Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moores 1822 poemA Visit From St. Nicholas, commonly known asTwas the Night Before Christmas. By the end of the 18th century, at the time of the 1776 Revolution, Santa Claus became the symbol of American resistance against the British occupying forces! But even after the war ended,. It shows a Santa in an egg-shaped profile, turning towards the viewer and carrying an armful of toys. When Dutch settlers arrived in the American colonies, they brought their love of Sinterklaas, as they call him, with them. Santa goes by several names in different parts of the world and the way he's depicted varies, but in most countries he's shown as a somewhat heavy man in red. 5 Tech Upgrades for Claus, Extinct giant tortoise was the 'mammoth' of Madagascar 1,000 years ago. If you disgrace your race in this way you had better take back seats.". This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Nast, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Thomas Nast, Thomas Nast - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Thomas Nast: "This Is a White Man's Government", Thomas Nast: Boss Tweed and the Tweed ring. AKA Santa Claus. [Got a question? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Created By: Beeghley Tech Innovations | Copyright 2023. The saint appears in the dreams of a sleeping sailors and expresses the wish to see the Dutch immigrants settle and build a city on the island of Manna-hata (Manhattan). Why did European countries adopt the euro? His use of Santa Claus was melancholy, sad for the faltering Union war effort in which Nast so fervently believed, and sad for the separation of soldiers and families. Thomas Nast built upon this 19th-century persona when he began drawing Santa for Harpers Weekly. In 1863, a drawing was made by the cartoonist Thomas Nast for the magazine Harper's Weekly. For the next 30 years Nast continued to draw Santa changing the color of his coat from tan to the red hes known for today. The stone reads, "Negroe Killed, Seymour Ratification, KKK. Abolitionist cartoonist Thomas Nast had a big role in manufacturing the US version of the Christmas patriarch. Nast would complete Nicholas-Santa Clauss transformation for Harpers Weekly magazine: Between 1862 and 1886, Nast created thirty-three Santa Claus drawings. Nast's interest in politics and Santa sometimes became intertwined. You can, however, find many versions that have been hand-colored by their owners. Our modern image of Santa Claus is directly indebted to Nasts dozens of Christmas illustrations for Harpers Weekly magazine in the 1860s-80s. In President Lincolns words, Santa Claus became his best recruiting agent! The magazine cover showed Santa Claus looking sad as he watched the young soldiers part with their families, and handed out gifts to Unionist men. In fact, Ulysses S. Grant later commended Nast for his powerful support of the Union, saying that Nast did as much as any one man to preserve the Union and bring the war to an end. Nast makes it clear that Santa supports the Union, not the Confederacy. On a Christmas cover of Harpers Weekly, he depicted himself in front of the fireplace, holding a long mother-of-pearl (meerschaum) pipe that was very popular at the time in Germany and the Netherlands. Who Drew Santa first? March 14, 1874 With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Nast vigorously supported the cause of the Union and opposed slavery from his drawing board at Harpers Weekly. Although Nast did not use an image of Santa for his 1864 Christmas drawing, he brought St. Nick back in the December 30, 1865 issue of Harper's, which contains a drawing of . This file has been superseded by MerryOldSanta.jpg.It is recommended to use the other file. His use of Santa Claus was melancholy, sad for the faltering Union war effort in which Nast so fervently believed, and sad for the separation of soldiers and families. This cartoon was published just a few weeks after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Answer (1 of 9): Authors have historically depicted Santa Claus as fat which has influenced our modern conception of Santa Claus. Nast was the first person to draw Santa Claus as a fat, bearded elf. He gained weight, grew a beard, wore fur and kept his peddlers bag on his shoulder: a right jolly old elf. Nast immortalized this transformation in his best portraits, sometimes depicting his own children and his Morristown family home in New Jersey. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The former Bishop Nicholas, deprived of his miter and cross, was completely unrecognizable as a jolly grandfather with a long white beard. Centered around a picture of a happy black family at a hearth, the image depicts slaves' miserable past in scenes of auctions and physical abuse -- and a view of a future as equals to their former masters. He particularly targeted corrupt New York City politician William Boss Tweed, head of the powerful Tammany Hall political group. His image, which included elements from the 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" and the cartoonist's German . Children came to believe that he would reward them if they were good.". He studied art at the National Academy of Design and at the age of 15 became a draftsman for Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper and at 18 for Harpers Weekly. She wrote her honors thesis on the life and work of early-20th century art theorist Roger Fry. login to share thoughts or upload a photo of your latest creation. Alexandra enjoys reading, ballroom dancing, and figure skating. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red hes known for today. How did Ida Tarbell help end the Standard Oil monopoly? In typical Nast fashion, the selection of toys and military-style bags from which they emerge carried political meanings that would have been understandable to Nasts original audience. 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Early Christmases often werent all that religious, to the point that Puritans briefly banned Christmas celebrations during the English civil wars of the mid-1600s. Most often asked questions related to bitcoin. Thomas Nast Thomas Nast Emancipation of Negroes, The Past and the Future. By the 1870s, Nasts image of Santa had become the dominant one in American popular culture. For this reason, Santa is still sometimes referred to as Saint Nick. He portrays Santa Claus as being chubby, funny, with a long white beard, together a reindeer pulled sleigh on a roof. Unsurprisingly, the drawings from the Civil War often fell solidly in the realm of propaganda; Nast staunchly supported abolition, civil rights and the Republicans. Both Frank Leslies and Harpers Weekly, where Nast later made his name, were illustrated weeklies. During the 1840s and 1850s, a series of Arctic explorations had piqued the publics interest in this region. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. 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