there is a line of red coat soldiers
walking, men on horseback, and a
George Washington
Ca. 1779-81
Charles Willson Peale
Revolutionary art piece
Charles Wilson Peale is a
revolutionary painter who uses
powerful stances and patriotic
imagery. This was very common in a
lot of revolutionary paintings. In this
piece, George Washington is in a very
dominant stance creating a feeling of
superiority. He himself is also very
patriotic. The lighting used here also
highlights him as a main figure in the
middle ground. There are also a lot of
flags and combat equipment off to the
right. In the background it looks like
battle field behind all of them.
Within this piece, there are very
muted earthy colors with contrast
between the subject and other
elements. The placement of
everything within this composition
created an uneven feeling while also
pulling your eyes around to every
detail. The way each flag is leaning
pulls your view from Washington to
the blue flag in the background to the
angled green/blue flag to the red flag
while viewing each element
surrounding them as well.
There is a strong use of light
which could imply significance to
those elements highlighted. The use
of depth and stance of each element
could also be highlighting
significance. The soldiers in the
background seem to be a side note
however, they also play a larger role
in understanding the meaning of this
piece. This piece most likely
represents the revolutionary war. The
red coat soldiers in the background
are the British troops leaving the
battlefield, walking back into the
darkness. The light is highlighting
Washington and what he represents:
America and their victory. He is the
pillar that holds together the light, is
what Peale could be trying to say
through this piece.

Mrs. James Pitt
Ca. 1735
John Smibert
Colonial art piece
John Smibert is a colonial oil
painter. He was described as the first
academically trained painter to live
and work regularly in British America.
He moved around in the beginning of
his studies and early career. His
painting style has been influenced by
one of his instructors, Sir Godfrey
Kneller who had a late-Baroque style.
Throughout the entire painting
there are a lot of muted earth toned
colors that create a very washed out
feeling. It uses a primary color with its
complementary counterpart to
highlight a specific section of the
painting. There are also a lot more
details in the fabrics than there are in
the facial expression/features. The
way the subject, Mrs. James Pitt is
positioned, is very still and formal.
The background is very simple with a
highlighted silhouette focusing the
viewers eyes on the subject.
There are many different
elements that Smibert uses to create
a sense of depth and emotion. The
lighting is a very central element that
can be seen in this piece. Value is
also used in this piece to create depth
and give the subject a slightly more
dynamic stance. All of the elements
within this piece all add to the
sophisticated portrayal of Mrs. James
Pitt. The intention of this piece was to
most likely display her class and
superiority in society; based on her
stance and overall portrayal. Her
stance and the lighting together also
create (for the time) a very suggestive
piece, which counters the
sophisticated upper class woman
ideology.
Looking at all of the different
elements and knowing brief
information on the artist's background,
you are able to piece together a
meaning. This piece could represent
challenging societal norms. It has a
suggestive positioning of the subject
while saying upper class woman.
Similarities-
- Muted color pallet
- Rigid/seemingly unnatural
positionsing/possed of the
subjects
- Time periods/style
- The way the faces are painted
is very similar with very basic
features included (not much
detail)
- The subject is highlighted using
lights and pale colors to stand
out against the darker shaded
backgrounds
Differences-
- Meaning 1(patriotic vs societal
norms)
- background/overall layout (busy
with detailed background vs
simple background and one
main focus)
- The subject themselves (full
body detailed vs waist up semi
detailed)
- Meaning 2(there is a lot of
hidden meaning vs minimal-
you can look at it and obtain a
general purpose)