Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (1816 - 1868 )

Born in Germany in 1816, Emanuel Leutze was a painter of historical narratives in mid-nineteenth century America. He came to America as a child and first studied art in Philadelphia. In 1840 he returned to Germany to study art at the academy in Dusseldorf. After the German revolution of 1848, Leutze and his artist friends set up a studio in a large shop in Dusseldorf.

In 1849, while living in Germany, Leutze began the first version of what would become his most famous subject. This first painting of “Washington Crossing the Delaware” was damaged by a fire in his studio. Although it was repaired, it was ultimately destroyed in 1942 in a bombing raid during World War II.

The second version of “Washington Crossing the Delaware” made Leutze famous. This painting was such a success that it resulted in an important commission for the artist: a mural, titled “Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way,” painted in the United States Capitol.

Leutze was a success in both America and Germany. He remained abroad for close to twenty years before finally returning to America in 1859. He settled in New York City, where he lived until his death in 1868. (MEB)

Washington Crossing the Delaware

Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851, oil on canvas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of John Stewart Kennedy, 1897.

Washington at the Battle of Monmouth, oil on canvas, 1857. The Monmouth County Historical Association, Freehold, New Jersey. Gift of the descendents of David Leavitt, 1937.

This second version of “Washington Crossing the Delaware” was exhibited in New York in the fall of 1851 and sold to Marshall O. Roberts for $10,000. In 1897, it was given to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City by John Stewart Kennedy, its owner at that time. Leutze’s painting has graced many school textbooks and appears on the New Jersey state quarter, minted in 1999.

The painting was created in oil on canvas and is large in size (149 by 255 inches); its subject is symbolic of the Revolutionary War. Leutze was intrigued by historical subjects and thoroughly researched material for the painting; he nevertheless used considerable artistic license in some aspects of the image. He had visited the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC, and researched Washington’s uniform and sword, as well as earlier images depicting the famous general. Painting it in Germany, however, he used the Rhine River as a source instead of the Delaware.

The painting depicts General George Washington standing in a boat, crossing an icy Delaware River on Christmas Eve in 1776. He is about to attack the Hessians at Trenton by night. The painting does not show a night sky but does symbolically include the Morning Star. The flag carried by James Monroe in the painting was not created until six months later. The black patriot shown in the boat, whose name was Prince Whipple, was actually in Baltimore at the time of the attack on the Hessians.

“Washington Crossing the Delaware” is Romantic in style. Washington is portrayed as the conquering hero, standing proudly above his men, with the lighted sky behind him. Leutze’s interpretion of the event shows Washington and his troops pitting man’s will against the elements of nature.

The second painting shown above, “Washington at the Battle of Monmouth,” depicts a conflict from the Revolutionary War that took place in 1778. One of the most famous participants was Molly Pitcher (Mrs. John Hayes), who took over her husband’s cannon after he was wounding during the fighting.

(MEB)

References:

Wayne Craven, American Art, History, and Culture (New York: McGraw Hill, 2003; originally 1994).

William H. Gerdts, “New Jersey,” from Art Across America: Two Centuries of Regional Painting, 1710-1920, vol.I (New York: Abbeville Press, 1990).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art web site (see link below).

The United States Mint web site (see link below).

U.S. History web site: http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/youasked/012.htm

National Public Radio web site: www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/georgewashington/

American Revolution web site: www.americanrevolution.org/delx2.html