George Washington Crossing The Deleware Rhetorical Analysis

Robert Colescott’s George Washington Carver Crossing the Deleware: Page from an American History Textbook (1975) is an acrylic painting that re-imagines and re-interpret the famous collection of oil paintings by Emanuel Leutze entitled Washington Crossing the Deleware (1851). In Washington Crossing the Deleware, Leutze recalls and commemorates the famous moment when General George Washington and the Continental Army crossed the Deleware river in a surprise attack during the American Revolution. The attack led to the Battle of Trenton, one of the most important victories for the Continental Army while fighting for America’s independence from Great Britain. Leutze was born in Germany, but spent some time in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during his

The caricatures in the painting, in the eyes of the audience, are amusing. The actions, exaggerated features, and clothing choices of the Black subjects makes them caricatures. These caricatures are strategically curated by Colescott to entertain the audience but also to advance his hidden agenda. While it may appear that the audience is laughing at the Black subjects themselves, Colescott fools the audience by actually making fun of those who created and supported negative stereotypes and tropes about Black people. Through this technique, Colescott tricks and pushes the audience into a state of awareness. Colescott forces the audience to think about why these stereotypes exist in the first place. This is a practice commonly known as satire. Satire is commonly defined as the use of humor, ridicule, and exaggeration to expose and criticize something or someone. It is a subliminal criticism that attempts to make a mockery out of its target. Colescott’s choice to make Carver the central figure and Black caricatures as secondary figures of the painting is a very important choice that adds to the satirical nature of the

A significant reason for this can be attributed to Colescott’s background and the time in which he was releasing very critical artwork like George Washington Carver Crossing the Deleware: Page from an American History Textbook. Colescott’s critique of the painting was largely influenced by his lived experiences as a Black man living in America. Colescott was born in Oakland, California in 1925. From a young age, Colescott was surrounded by art and the issues of race and politics. Most notably, as a teen, he witnessed the painting of Pan American Unity, a mural painted by Diego Rivera on Treasure Island. Through this event, Colescott was exposed to the way art and politics intersect. In 1945, he was drafted to serve for the United States in Army during World War II. Colescott likely faced discrimination and racism within the army during this time because of the presence of Jim Crow and segregation. While stationed in Paris, a hub for Black artists because of its hospitality towards Black people, Colescott encountered new art forms. Colescott creates and released George Washington Carver Crossing the Deleware: Page from an American History Textbook in 1975 after the height of the Civil Rights Movement. During this period, Black Americans continue to fight for equal rights and equal treatment under the law. In the late 60s and 70s, Colescott also witnessed the