Washington Crossing The Delaware Painting Analysis

This painting shows George Washington, then a general in the American Revolutionary War, crossing the Delaware River with his troops on the night of Dec. 25, 1776. The crossing immediately advanced Washington 's surprise attack on the Hessian forces in the Battle of Trenton. Although the painting portrays a historic part of the American Revolution, it was spuriously painted by Emanuel Leutze, an artist born in Germany. Moreover, where the original was actually painted.

Viewing Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware painting evoked a great deal of emotion. Upon walking into the room filled with American landscape paintings, the enormous size demanded all my attention temporarily making me forget about the rest of the paintings. The longer I gazed at the artist’s magnificent triumph, the more I felt a part of this historic venture. The painting is oil-on-canvas, and it’s not the only painting Leutze made. The first version of this painting was damaged by a fire, and the second painting, which is a full-sized replica of the first, was begun shortly after the first version was damaged. According to “The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History”, “Leutze began his

For instance, Washington is represented in a strikingly idealized pose. Additionally, one can see in the upper left hand corner the morning star which lends the painting a Christian significance since this star guided the three wise men to Jesus. The flag gives the overall awareness of a patriotic notion, however was not designed at the time. According to Picturing America, “The Continental Congress did not officially adopt the flag shown in the painting until June 14, 1777, but according to tradition, Betsy Ross is said to have completed one of this design in late May or early June of 1776 at the request of George Washington and two other members of the Congress”