Classical Blog Exhibit
Revolution and Art -1700's
As my theme for this blog post I chose revolution and art in 1700's. In my opinion, revolution in the classical era of art can be very broad so I chose to specify it and write more about American revolution and art. The Revolutionary War was also known as the American Revolution, which took place from 1775-1783. The war arose from tensions growing among colonial government, which represented the British crown and the 13 North American colonies. The Americans felt that British were taking their rights wrongfully. There were many events during the American Revolution, and they were captured by artists and I will describe some of them in this post.
This is one of my favorite pieces of classical era during the time of American revolution. It is called The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775 and painted by American artist John Trumbull. Currently this art piece is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston Massachusetts. The location of this painting is Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut. Artist John Trumbull was in the colonial army camp at the time and saw this event unfold. Later decided to depict this event.
The focus of the painting is on General Warren's body. He is dressed in white, and a British major, dressed in a red uniform is holding a sword in his left hand. In the background you can see the Boston Harbor. The sky is partially obscured by smoke, which is rising from a town, which was torched by the British. They way that Trumbull used color contrast and paints the dark clouds really sets the mood for this piece. This painting has great detail and captures a moment of history, which is so important to the history of the United States of America. The piece has amazing proportion and clarity of characters, which is something that characterizes classical era.
The artwork makes me feel patriotism and people willing to fight for their freedom. It shows death of General Warren gives this painting an emotion of bravery and shows how important these battles were. Would I want this painting in my house? Absolutely.
Similar to the previous painting Battle of Paoli by Xavier della Gatta made in 1782 is a war scene of the American Revolution. This painting is currently in the Museum of the American Revolution. In this piece you can see a depiction of the nighttime attack at Paoli, Pennsylvania. In the middle of the night of September 20-21, 1777, the British launched a surprise attack which you can see in the painting. You can see the British taking advantage of the Americans. The British riflemen and infantrymen are using bayonets and sabers to fight.
I think that this artwork shows a great detail and similarly to the previous artwork it has clarity of structure. In my opinion, it fits in the Classical era. The artist does a great job of bringing out raw emotion by the way he painted the fire and smoke. I like this particular painting because it is a rare depiction of a nighttime engagement during the Revolutionary War. Other than the rarity of seeing an artwork from this time in the middle of the night, it makes me feel confusion of the battle and the brutality of a surprise attack. I would like to have this painting in my collection, because I am passionate about history and the wars that took place that formed present days.
As the last painting to compare from the Classical era and the American Revolution and art in 1700's, I chose The Battle of Princeton by James Peale, 1782. This painting is currently in Princeton University Art Museum. This painting is meaningful because it is George Washington's first battlefield victory over the British. James Peale in this painting emphasized a critical moment when Washington rode onto battlefield and rallied the men for the final attack to the British.
Peale showed many details of Classical era art as realistically as he could and including specifications of American uniforms. I personally like the details of the equipment of the gun crew. Peale made the lines very distinct for the troops and equipment. I think that in comparison to the other paintings that I wrote about this painting separates itself because of the perfection. This painting makes me feel success and patriotism which is because the men gathered put their life on the line and beat their enemies for a bigger cause. Just like the rest of the paintings I analyzed, I would love to have this artwork at my house. I think that the art from the revolutionary war has a certain historical feeling to them that shows how the past affected the present days. Although I would like to have these art pieces at my house, I think that they belong in a museum so more people can see and appreciate it.
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