Washington Crossing the Delaware | BRIdge to the Past: Art Across U.S. History

0:04 Hi everybody. Welcome to another episode of Bridge to the Path art across US history. I’m your host, Mary Patterson, and today we’re looking at one of the most iconic images in American memory, emmanuel Lloyds Washington Crossing the Delaware. With me today is my colleague, Liz Evans. And Liz, you have said that this is your favorite at painting.

0:25 Why is that? Well, thank you, Mary. I really love this painting because I think that it is the most recognizable to students, to teachers, to Americans in general. And it’s something that’s been reproduced by a number of artists, TV shows, things like that. And so it’s really one of my favorites

0:47 because I think that generally people see this and they recognize it and they know what it is, and it has such an interesting story behind it. So I’m super excited to talk about it today. Yes, me too. And I introduced it as being really iconic. And I don’t say that lightly. I think that’s true because as you said, it’s very recognizable. It usually appears in textbooks.

1:09 It’s on the New Jersey state quarter. It’s a funko pop. It’s been on Sesame Street several times. So it’s kind of a big deal. It’s actually literally a big deal because it’s 12ft high and 21ft long. So it’s a massive, massive painting. But we have a lot cut out for us. So let’s dive in. So here it is.

1:30 Emmanuel Leutze’s Washington crossing the Delaware. So as we have done with other episodes, we have this massive image in front of us. So it’s not massive for us, it’s on a screen, but in real life, as I said, it’s really big. So the first thing to do is to just look at it and make some observations and try to turn these into questions to figure out what’s going on.

1:52 And why does this image keep coming up again and again in our textbooks and in our pop culture? Just from the title of it, I’m wondering, why is Washington crossing the Delaware? Is he going somewhere? Is he leaving somewhere? What’s going on with that? Another good question is who is he taking with him?

2:13 There’s so many people in this painting, so where is he going and who is all with him? Yes, because it’s pretty obviously it’s Washington. We know it’s Washington from the title. But you’re right, there’s all these other faces on his boat and there’s other boats in the background, and it looks like there’s horses in the background. And I don’t know who any of these people are.

2:34 So that’s a great question. Who are these people and why are they crossing the Delaware with Washington? Yeah, and it’s an interesting thing, too, like looking at the flag. That’s always one of my favorite things to do in paintings, is to look at the flag and see where we are in American history. And it’s interesting that it’s not flowing

2:54 completely out, because usually when you see images of the flag. It’s blowing in the wind, but this one isn’t necessarily fully blowing in the wind. So when I first saw this painting, that was one of the things that I kind of noticed. Yeah, and I think I’m sort of drawn to Washington because he’s kind of in the center,

3:16 and he’s standing up, and he’s sort of got this kind of heroic pose with this cape and the flags right next to him. So it’s almost like there’s the two of them together. So that’s pretty interesting. Bring up Washington. He seems completely unfazed by everything in this. Like everybody else’s, they’re wind blown, and they’re trying, and he’s standing,

3:39 and the wind looks like it’s blowing at him, but he in. This seems to be that strong figure who is not fazed by whatever is going on. The weather. I mean, you mentioned the wind, and there’s clearly ice in the water, so it doesn’t look like a particularly nice time to be doing anything in the water at all.

4:02 So that might be another question. When is this taking place? Might be another question we could ask. So we’ve taken just a few minutes to look at what we see and try to think of some questions. And now we’ve got to have some context, right? Because context is everything when we’re looking at primary sources.

4:22 So this painting was painted in 1851, but it actually depicts a scene from 1776. So 1776, of course, as we know, is kind of a big year. So technically, the Revolutionary War, the first shots are fired in 1775. In July of 1776, the Declaration of Independence is adopted.

4:46 And by September, the British have captured New York City, and Washington army is retreating. So 1776 isn’t really a good year for the Continental Army. Of course, Washington is their leader. And by December, things are especially bad because winter is setting in, and a lot of the soldiers are deserting because they have farms, they have homes.

5:08 They are like, I got to get back to my life. I can’t just hang out in this losing army forever. So things are kind of dire. And this is actually when Thomas Paine publishes The American Crisis, and he’s trying to say, these are the times that try men’s souls. So the going is tough right now, and Washington desperately needs a victory.

5:30 So that’s where we are this moment. So Washington is kind of desperate. He needs a victory. Like, he’s losing men, he’s losing the fighting. What is he going to do? So he comes up with this plan to surprise the Hessian troops of the Hessian mercenaries, the British army at Trenton after Christmas.

5:52 So he’s like, they’ll never suspect this coming. It’s a surprise attack. So it was really bold. You could say it was brilliant, or you could say it was desperate. And to do this, he’s got to get his men across the Delaware River. So he crosses the Delaware river at night with his men, surprises the troops, and it becomes an American.

6:12 It’s a huge victory. So this is the moment in time that the artist has chosen to depict this particular crossing. And you can see so if we zero in on Washington, as you said, he’s sort of unfazed. He’s the leader of this. The American flag is behind him, and you can see his men are around him.

6:33 So he has two officers sort of in the blue caps. You have a guy with sort of a coonskin cap behind him. And in the front of the boat on the left, I don’t know, forward asked, starboard, I don’t know all that. So I’m just going to say, if you guys know that, good for you. But in the front of the boat, you have another man, like breaking it.

6:54 So they’re not only rowing, but they’re kind of breaking up the ice. And this guy also has on a coonskin cap. And the guy there’s a man with a tab tam, sorry, on his hat. So he is Scott’s Irish. So there’ll be a lot of Scott’s Irish men in the Continental Army. And the other gentleman is an African American. So you have an African American in the boat with Washington.

7:14 And then behind Washington you have more farmers. They’re kind of huddled up against the wind. And you have a man that we would imagine is a Native American. He has sort of the hats and the moccasins and the buckskin pants that would have been typical of Native American soldiers. And of course, Native Americans and African Americans served in the Continental Army.

7:37 This is the only time the army wasn’t segregated at all until the middle of the 20th century. So you have all these figures in the boat with Washington and of course the horses. And in the background you can even see some cannons. So this is again, this is really sort of a desperate,

7:57 almost a bold move that Washington is making by crossing the river. Well, and it’s so interesting because if you look at all of this stuff, it doesn’t look realistic to cross a river with horses and cannons. And a lot of these people are seated. I’m going to make the assumption that sitting in a boat during this time might have been a little wet and cold.

8:21 And I’m so interested at the inclusion of all the people that you just brought up, because if you look at American paintings, John Trumbell comes to mind. They’re not necessarily including Native Americans or African Americans at the time.

8:43 So again, it’s a very interesting look, especially because this was painted well after this event actually occurred. Yeah. And I think that’s where looking at who was this made for and who made it and why did he make it, is a really important piece of the puzzle. So as you said, this was painted almost 100 years after the event of Washington, actually crossing the Delaware in 1776.

9:08 It’s painted in 1851, and it’s not painted in the United States. The artist, Emmanuel Litza was German American. He was born in the United States, but he was living in Germany at the time. And in 1848, there were all these revolutions across Europe, and including one in his home country of what would become Germany. But it fails. It doesn’t work.

9:28 So Leutze wanted to inspire at least some sort of reform. If we couldn’t have a full on revolution, at least we can make some changes. So he was looking for inspiration, and he looked to the American Revolution. So he has depicted this moment, this bold moment. Of course, at the time, Washington didn’t know if it was going to work, and he almost called it off

9:50 because the weather was so bad, and he couldn’t even get all the men across. They didn’t know it was going to work out. Of course we know. And he knew in 1851 that it would work out. So he’s captured this moment and all of its sort of its boldness and its braveness. And I think also it’s inclusivity. So I’ll go back to the full picture.

10:10 But, yeah, as you said, there’s definitely some artistic license that he took with this, because, as he said, the weather was really terrible that evening. There was a terrible storm, and they would not have crossed the Delaware in these small boats like this. And the crossing was actually the very narrow part, and they probably had wires or ropes across that they ferried the men

10:35 across, so they weren’t in these open, shallow boats. This is actually the Rhine River, which is the river between Germany and France. So he’s, the artist depicted this river he was familiar with, not especially the Delaware. And the boats would have been higher, and then horses and the cannons would have gone across, not with the men.

10:55 So it probably didn’t look like this. They’re probably scared. They’re probably freezing. Washington had serious doubts about it. Maybe he wasn’t portraying that to his men, but I’m sure it was there in his mind. This Washington is, like, cool as a cucumber, but it’s interesting how he’s taken this moment and made it so iconic, and it’s like colossal zeal and patriotism.

11:22 And again, he’s trying to inspire people with this cause for liberty and equality. And you can see that right in the boat. And the people who are there, everyone is a part of these fighting for these principles. When I think you brought up the revolutions that he was trying to inspire, and looking back at the American Revolution, when you’re looking in 1851,

11:46 there are a lot of positives, and clearly, it turned out well for us. And so it begs a lot of questions. You’re talking about the interpretation, and he’s in the Rhine, but I remember seeing this, too, in the capital Rotunda, and just being overwhelmed with it and with these and it wasn’t

12:08 until you said, kind of gave me a little bit more information about the author and you talk about the license and the interpretation of it. And I think that’s the best part about art is it is the artist’s interpretation. And Emanuel’s story is so interesting, and it makes this painting so much more interesting, having an understanding

12:30 of maybe why his view was the way it was and why he painted it that way. Because you’re right, you’re automatically drawn to Washington here. He looks so sure of himself. And again, because we’re historians, we know he was not sure of himself. So we also said this, you know, this image is really recognizable.

12:50 And I think part of the reason why it’s so recognizable is because it keeps getting reproduced and you see it again and again. So it’s clearly made it an impression on how Americans choose to think about themselves, I think. And when we look at things, especially this one, I think good questions, because some art, we’re really lucky.

13:11 We get to know a lot about it and people have analyzed it, but then there’s some art where nobody has. And it’s just always interesting questions to look at a piece of art that is kind of reproducing this American masterpiece. It’s not American masterpiece. It’s a masterpiece of American history, maybe.

13:32 But to look at something like this and say, what is the same? What did this artist choose to keep? And what did this artist choose to leap out? And what kinds of questions does that bring up? And I think sometimes when we look at art, we want all the answers. It’s like history. We want all these answers, but sometimes there is no answer.

13:54 The questions are more valuable to ask than the answers are to have. And so with this piece, I did a lot of research, and I couldn’t find a whole lot. But then I just found myself looking and asking those questions. What’s there? What’s not? And what can that kind of tell us, right? Just that it’s coming from much later in time.

14:19 So clearly, this artist was familiar with the painting and has his own spin on it. So something has to endure about it. And here’s another great example of pretty recent example of an artist recreating this image but with his own touch. Yes, and I actually saw this at the portrait gallery and probably stood there for a good 45 minutes looking at it.

14:42 And this one is to me, again, it’s all interpretation, is more of identity. You know, looking at this painting, and I know that, you know, it’s depicting Angel Island. I know that it’s depicting warriors. And it’s really looking at what is the cultural identity of an Asian American.

15:03 And it’s taking this iconic painting, and it’s making something that people can identify with, people who are Asian American. And the one question I always have when I look at this is who is in the background, there’s a shadow and why is it a shadow and who is it supposed to be?

15:25 But again, this license, this artistic interpretation, I think is so valuable because America in 1776 and America in 2010, which is when this was done, were completely different. And looking at how that experience, you know, grew and shaped this artist’s

15:48 interpretation, I just think is incredible. And I think it’s incredible, too. Again, looking at the flag, this is a different flag than was in the first one. But it’s still there, though. I just think so much has changed that this constant changing is sort of the history of anything.

16:09 There’s all this change, yet some things endure. And there’s just something very enduring about this moment, like this desperate move that worked and who was involved in sort of the bravery and the sort of the grittiness to see it through. And even though you were scared at the time, but it worked out. So I think there’s something in there

16:30 that resonates, even no matter what time period is. But I think it’s worth noting sometimes what actually happened, like this crossing in the dark and the desperation in these huge boats versus how we remember it, doesn’t necessarily always gel. So it’s important to ask all those questions, like you said, and you might not find answers, but it’s so important to ask the questions.

16:54 So keep asking those questions until next time, when we’ll see you again soon. Take care. Thanks, Liz. Thank you.