Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing The Delaware

506 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of religion in art

Washington Crossing the Delaware is a painting that depicts George Washington and his men crossing the Delaware River on Christmas morning, 1776. It was illustrated by Emanuel Leutze, a German-American artist who is best known for his adaptations of history on canvas. This version of Washington Crossing the Delaware in 1851 was actually his second rendition of it due to the first version being damaged in a fire. This painting currently resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where thousands of visitors see it every day. WHAT IS WCTD? Washington Crossing the Delaware’s style and category of painting is a history painting, and it was painted with oil on canvas. The artist uses neutral colors, smooth brush strokes, and makes the art seem realistic, almost as if it was an image copied …show more content…

Like all other history paintings, this composition was designed to show a scene of history, rather than express an opinion or just to look nice. Not only are history paintings meant to emphasize what is painted rather than how it is painted, they are designed to display a certain scene in history without physical movement of the persons present on the painting. Within the category of history paintings, there are many subcategories of history paintings. Religious, mythological, allegorical, literary, and historical are the different styles of history painting. Religious history paintings involve the images of religious figures, or events in religious texts, e.g. Descent from the Cross, by Roger Van Der Weyden. Mythological history paintings attempt to address the questions accompanying topics like the origin of the universe, and unexplainable happenings throughout history and at the times in which the paintings were painted, e.g Bacchus and Ariadne, by Titian. The subcategory of history paintings that Washington Crossing the Delaware is is a historical history painting, meaning the event captured by the brush of Emanuel Leutze was

Show More
Related

  • Comparison of Painting of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart and Charles Willson Peale

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    On Saturday, March 15, 2014, I visited the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The gallery #753, which is a part of so-called American Wing, features oil paintings of the revolutionary period in America. The paintings seen in this gallery celebrate heroes and hard-fought battles of the new nation. The most popular type of painting of that time remained portraiture. Portraits in extremely large numbers figured in interiors, where they were arranged to convey not only domestic, but political messages as well. Hence, it is natural, that such iconic figure like George Washington became a model for numerous artists of that era, including Gilbert Stuart and Charles Willson Peale, for whom Washington actually sat. Two exceptional portraits of Washington, the general and the the first President of the United States are highlighted in this paper.

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast of Henry O Tanner’s painting "The head of a Jew in Palestine” wit"h Alice Pike Barneys´s painting " The head of a Negro Boy"

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    For my research I decided to visit the Smithsonian art museum in Washington dc. The Smithsonian art museum has about 3299 art works on display for viewing. I was able to see many great works of art while the art museum. The trip was eye opening. I was exposed to different art techniques with varying use of contrast and depth. I noted the different brush strokes and drawing styles and how they varied between each artist. After viewing many works of art, I decided to compare Henry O Tanner’s painting “The head of a Jew in Palestine” with Alice Pike Barneys painting, “The head of a Negro Boy”

    Read More

  • Wayne White's 'Golden Surf Rossi: The Seventies'

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Florence and the early renaissance, we have the greatest master of art like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli and others. In this period of time the painters almost never show their emotions or feelings, they were more focused on indulging the churches and the wealthy people. In The renaissance period the art provides the work of art with ideal, intangible qualities, giving it a beauty and significance greater and more permanent than that actually found in the modern art. Florence and the early renaissance, the art become very valued where every artist was trying to create art forms consistent with the appearance of the beauty or elegance in a natural perspective. However, Renaissance art seems to focus more on the human as an individual, while Wayne White art takes a broader picture with no humans whatsoever; Wayne, modern three dimensional arts often utilizes a style of painting more abstract than Renaissance art. At this point in the semester these two aspects of abstract painting and the early renaissance artwork have significant roles in the paintings. Wayne White brings unrealistic concepts that provoke a new theme of art, but nevertheless the artistic creations of the piece of art during early renaissance still represent the highest of attainment in the history of

    Read More

  • George Washington Crossing The Delaware Compare And Contrast

    207 Words  | 1 Pages

    The painting and poem of Washington Crossing the Delaware are similar and different. They have more similarities though. They have the same points and ideas. The poem adds a little more information though.

    Read More

  • America: The Abundant and John Downe´s Letter to His Wife Convincing her to Move to America

    616 Words  | 2 Pages

    Downe travels to America in search for a job, leaving his family behind to support them through money. Downe convinces his wife and children to emigrate to live a more prosperous life in America spanning from an enthusiastic tone to one of sincerity.

    Read More

  • The Book 1776 by David McCullough

    1315 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history, Americans have sought to spread the spirit of equality, which is believed to be the realization of true freedom. Before establishing this freedom, every American had only one question stuck in their head: What is freedom? Our country received it in the year of 1776 from the British through a series of difficulties and wars. African Americans defined it as an escape from slavery, while immigrants defined it as their acceptance into a new society. More yet, women of the women’s suffrage defined their freedom as their recognition into society and for their rights to be equal to that of every other man. These different perceptions of cultures/groups in America tied together to form an American view of freedom. Freedom is something that every American should be willing to do anything in order to maintain. We may have weapons of mass destruction, but when it comes to living in a peaceful, American lifestyle, our freedom is our greatest weapon.

    Read More

  • 1776 Book Review

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    1776, Book Review It was a good year for a revolution, 1776. But it didn't start off quite as well as the colonists would have liked. When George Washington agreed to take command of the American forces in 1775, he probably didn't realize what he was truly getting himself into. Washington took command of an army made up of old men and young boys that had either come from their farms or the streets. The army was short on weapons and gunpowder, lacked uniforms, and was racked by disease and drunkenness.

    Read More

  • The Betrayal of Christ Depicted in the Italian Paintings by Duccio and Giotto

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    The development of Italian painting in the years around the 1300 or the proto-renaissance is in some sense the rebirth of art and culture. The painters of Renaissance Italy usually attached to particular courts and with loyalties to certain cities, still explored the extensive span of Italy. Many of the Italian painters grew artistically during this time, which is noticeable in Duccio’s painting compared to Giotto’s. In the renaissance period it was highly popularized to mainly draw depictions of religious figures, which is what the concentration of Duccio’s artwork mainly was. Before the painting of the Betrayal of Christ, Duccio’s paintings were highly composed and reliant upon the ancient tradition of icon painting. In the time around 1300 Duccio took steps toward depicting images in a more naturalistic form; Whereas, Giotto, in the 1300’s, was already established as painting more three-dimensional and naturalistic forms.

    Read More

  • Washington Crossing The Delaware Essay

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the American Revolution, Washington and his men were experiencing a series of defeat. In order to bring about great pride and patriotism of an American, they sought to plan a sneak attack on the opposite force. On December 25, Washington and 5,400 troops began crossing the Delaware River to the Hessian stronghold. At this point in time, the Hessians were celebrating Christmas; this was a perfect time for an attack. When Washington and his men arrived, they started attacking the unsuspected Hessians; nearly 1,000 Hessians were captured. Even though the attack was not significant, it raised American spirit. In 1851, Emanuel Leutze created the image of Washington Crossing the Delaware; the painting was later destroyed, but restored by another artist. The mood of the painting can be described as intense and patriotic. Later, a poem called “Washington Crossing the Delaware” was written by David Shulman. The mood of the poem

    Read More

  • Comparison between Jan van Eyck and Fra Angelico

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both Jan van Eyck and Fra Angelico were revered artists for the advances in art that they created and displayed for the world to see. Their renditions of the Annunciation were both very different, however unique and perfect display of the typical styles used during the Renaissance. Jan van Eyck’s panel painting Annunciation held all the characteristics of the Northern Renaissance with its overwhelming symbolism and detail. Fra Angelico’s fresco Annunciation grasped the key elements used in the Italian Renaissance with usage of perspective as well as displaying the interest and knowledge of the classical arts.

    Read More

  • Meaning Of Coposition IV By Wassily Kandinsky

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    himself through his mediums. He used oil on canvas for his medium in this painting. There are

    Read More

  • Griselda Pollock: Article Analysis

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    The article Artists Mythologies and Media Genius, Madness and Art History (1980) by Griselda Pollock is a forty page essay where Pollock (1980), argues and explains her views on the crucial question, "how art history works" (Pollock, 1980, p.57). She emphasizes that there should be changes to the practice of art history and uses Van Gogh as a major example in her study. Her thesis is to prove that the meaning behind artworks should not be restricted only to the artist who creates it, but also to realize what kind of economical, financial, social situation the artist may have been in to influence the subject that is used. (Pollock, 1980, pg. 57) She explains her views through this thesis and further develops this idea by engaging in scholarly debates with art historians and researcher, and objecting to how they claim there is a general state of how art is read. She structures her paragraphs in ways that allows her to present different kinds of evidences from a variety sources while using a formal yet persuasive tone of voice to get her point across to the reader.

    Read More

  • The Shift Between The Middle Ages And Renaissance

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    The shift between the Middle Ages and Renaissance was documented in art for future generations. It is because of the changes in art during this time that art historians today understand the historical placement and the socio-economic, political, and religious changes of the time. Art is a visual interpretation of one’s beliefs and way of life; it is through the art from these periods that we today understand exactly what was taking place and why it was happening. These shifts did not happen overnight, but instead changed gradually though years and years of art, and it is through them that we have record of some of the most important changes of historic times.

    Read More

  • Art Is Important To Religion

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    Art is important to religion in many different ways. Perhaps none has analyzed how art and religion have influenced and affected each other through the ages. Pictures painted of past events that help to bring back the feeling and importance of the past have been forgotten by some. To the one’s that haven’t forgotten are able to see the event’s as the bible says they happened. Not only can you see the events, but it also allows the younger students of the church to understand the events. The use of images of God became widespread after the second century. This religious art has defiantly been around for centuries and plays an important role to the history of religion as well as the future.

    Read More

  • The Painting

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    The painting was of a river flowing from a lake, surrounded by very tall grass. On each side of the river there are people standing. What was interesting is they were painted all black. They looked like shaded figures. They were all shaped differently but you can tell they were all men. On the top left side of the river there were five men. On the right bottom side of the river there were four men. On each side it looked as though the men were trying to cross over to the other side. They looked tired and scared. It looked as though they were hiding, and getting across the river was the only way to get to that safe haven.

    Read More

More about Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing The Delaware

Open Document