Washington Crossing the Delaware

Washington Crossing the Delaware (Eng. Washington crossing the Delaware ) is an oil painting by the German - American history painter Emanuel Leutze from the year 1851. It shows General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on the night of 25th to December 26th 1776 during the American war of Independence. This event was the first troop movement in the form of a surprise attack against the Hessian units in the Battle of Trenton, New Jersey.

The original image was part of the collection of the Kunsthalle Bremen. It was destroyed by British air raids in 1942. Earlier, it had been singed on November 5, 1850 in a fire in the apartment below Leutze's studio; Leutze had, however, assured the picture and could restore it.

Leutze had painted a second version of the painting, which he completed in the summer of 1851. In September 1851, the image will be on display at the Stuyvesant Institute in New York, where it was enthusiastically received. " I do not hesitate to tell you, gentlemen, that I think Washington Crossing the Delaware for one of the greatest works of the age. It is truly worthy to document the biggest event in the military life of the great man, the revered above all the whole nation, "said the New York-based collector and president of the American Art- Union, Abraham M. Cozzens, at a banquet in honor Leutze. First, the New York Shipbuilding magnate Marshall O. Roberts bought the painting for $ 10,000. Since 1897 can be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. From the image itself, there are many copies, of which one at the White House in Washington, DC is issued.

Image construction

The painting is known for its bold composition: George Washington stands out from an unnaturally bright night sky, while his face looks into the rising sun. The tone of the color is dark, as is to be expected in the twilight. The men in the boat represent people of the American colonies. It is presented as an African American, a man with Tam, a gunner from the western United States, two farmers, an androgynous person in red clothes and a man from the indigenous population. That man, who stands alongside Washington and the flag holds, is Lieutenant James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States later. General Edward Hand is shown seated on the image; he holds his hat firmly by hand.