Mou1 Sam Mou Period: 2 AP Art History 11 March 2013 3rd Quarter Essay Washington Crossing the Delaware

is an oil painting, painted by a German American artist Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze in 1851. The subject of the painting was George Washington crossing the Delaware river on the night of December 26, 1776, during the American revolutionary war. It was a surprise attack planed by George Washington against the German soldiers (hessian)in Trenton. Washington led the American forces across the icy Delaware river which led to victory over the British forces with the help of lord Cornwall. The painting is known for its compositions. General Washington is facing a gloomy sky while the sun is about to rise, it is a reference of Washington being the savior of America. The painting has a dark tone to it where everyone seems to be in a solemn mood but the color red appeared multiple time and it kind of emphasized the sacrifice that everyone have committed and the importance of George Washington. The dark tone also convey an unsettling mood. The painting is very linear, and it is very clear and crisp on its subject matter. It is closed form and has multiplicity because while every character in the foreground stands out and can be placed by itself but George Washington is most prominent figure of that boat. The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tkaid were a series of ukiyo-e woodcut prints created by Utagawa Hiroshige, after he traveled through Tkaid in 1832. Hiroshige was considered one

Mou2 of the greatest ukiyo-e artist ever, and he was a member of the Utagawa school. Their primary focus were on woodblock art. His trip over the Tkaid inspire him to make these woodblock paintings of the fifty three stations that he saw. The landscape of the trip profoundly impressed him and after he got back, he starts to craft these paintings immediately. These prints were first carved on a piece of wood in reverse before it can actually print on a piece of paper. Each individual block of painting depicts different station that Hiroshige have seen during his trip, each printing is unique and has its own story behind it. For, example his Nihonbash woodcut print which means the bridge of japan, is about a finance district that revolves around a bridge. The Nihonbash distrct was a major trading center of his time. The Nihonbash bridge was built at the starting point of the five highway during the Edo period. The Nihonbash bridge was the center of the finical district. Merchants in Hiroshiges Nihonbash painting seem all alike, they are in a way irrelevant instead they are merely decoration of the bridge which is to emphasize the significance of the bridge. Essentially the bridge express the monetary prosperity of the time period and how important transportation routes are to the Japanese merchants.

Mou3 Works Cited "Edutainment Ando Hiroshige - 1797-1858." Hiroshige. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. "History." What's Wrong with This Painting? N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. "Nihonbashi : Tokyo Chuo City Tourism Association." Nihonbashi : Tokyo Chuo City Tourism Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. "Thomas J. Watson Library." Thomas J. Watson Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. "Washington s CrossingAn Excerpt for President s Day WeekendIntroduction: The Painting." OUPblog. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.

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