This painting depicts General Washington crossing the icy Delaware river during the revolutionary war. This is a very powerful image. General Washington is standing up while all of his men are sitting down in the boat paddling. There are multiple boats in the background, however the painting is 75% of the boat that General Washington is in. Many people will argue that George Washington is the main power figure in this painting, however I would like to disagree. I believe that the American Flag is the main point of power and focus in the painting. While George Washington is standing and in the middle of the picture, the American flag being held by a soldier right behind Mr. Washington is standing a little bit taller. This can be traced back to the ladder of power in the military. The lowest is the general soldier and then it climbs up the ranks eventually to General. Washington is the general, however the list can’t stop there. The reason he is general is to fight for that flag, and to keep what he believes in his. By looking at the height of objects, the shading, and the asymmetry in the painting, we can see that the painting is suggesting power to the raft that General Washington is on. This is important due to the fact that Washington was the leader in this attack, so his raft should be perceived as powerful. 

The height of the objects in the painting can be very productive while addressing power in the painting. The lowest level of height are the regular soldiers. They are guiding the boat, that is going across the treacherous river. The next level of height in the picture is General Washington. He is standing on top of the boat that is being guided by his men. With the height that he is standing at, he can be understood as the most powerful person on the boat. He is standing the tallest and General Washington is displaying his sword for everyone to see, again leading the audience to believe that the sword is a symbol of Washington’s power. However, Washington is not the tallest figure in the painting. He is only the tallest human in the painting. The American Flag on the boat is taller than General Washington. The placement of the flag shows the potential to have a more powerful effect on the men that are below George Washington than what Washington himself had on his men. The height at which an object is placed in the painting can symbolize the amount of power it holds. 

The shading of an image can be very powerful. The shading of this painting is no different. The raft seems to be going away from a very dark and stormy sky, and toward a sunnier and more peaceful sky. This imagery leads to a potential conclusion of the raft heading away from a dark and negative side, to a more positive and light side. However, there is much more dark in the picture than light. This leaves the painting with a gloomy feeling, like there is danger around. Upon further examination, there is what looks to be sunlight on the faces of the people aboard the raft. This leads to a thought that the sun is in front of them. This can give an optimistic feel to the passengers on the raft, they are looking into the light. The light that is shedding onto the passengers of the raft also seems to be highlighting them in a way. The background shading of the painting also seems to be highlighting the raft in a way as well. The only part where you see brightness in the sky is above the first half of the boat. The rest of the boats in the background are not in the highlighted area and are being covered by clouds. This gives the first raft that Washington is in an image of importance and higher stature over the other rafts. The only other segment of light in the sun in the painting is a mere sun ray. However, the sun ray looks like it is coming off of the flag, and it is angled down onto the other rafts. This gives the flag a perception of power over the other rafts. Although it is only in this first raft, the flag is shedding light onto all of the rafts in this crossing of the river. The shading of this painting gives the overall painting a sense of gloominess with its use of many dark colors, however with the use of shading it gives the soldiers a look of optimism in the gloominess. 

The asymmetry in this painting creates a sense of progress. If you look in the left half of the painting, there are a lot of pieces of ice in the way, however there is land in front of them.  If you look in the right half of the painting, there is much less ice and it is out of the way of the boats, however there is no land on the horizon. This is what creates the sense of progress along the river in the painting. There is no land behind them, but land in front of them so it can be perceived that the rafts are closer to their destination than their starting point. The lack of ice behind the raft demonstrates the work that it takes to make progress, and the ice in front of the raft demonstrates the work that it will take to continue to make progress. Another asymmetric aspect to look at is the fact that on the left half of the painting there are no rafts, however on the right half there are the remaining rafts behind the raft that Washington is on. This is another aspect of the painting that creates a sense of power for Washington’s raft. This asymmetry makes Washington’s raft look like it is in front of all the other rafts, which with context clues can be taken as Washington’s raft leading all of the other rafts to shore. 

By the shading, height of the objects, and asymmetry of the painting, Washington’s raft can be perceived as the most powerful and important raft in this painting. His raft is the center of attention, and partially illuminated. Through context, and these visual elements, the painting gives a very large image of power to Washington’s raft. 