With the birth of a new nation came one of the most powerful countries on the entire planet. The man who contributed the most to the birth of the United States of America was George Washington, the leader of our armed forces at the time, and the biggest patriot of them all. Ultimately leading the way for him to become the first president of the United States. One of the most famous paintings regarding the revolutionary war is the image of George Washington leading his men across the Delaware River. Emanuel Leutze, the artist of this painting, uses many different techniques and aspects in the painting itself to demonstrate the character of George Washington and how he led a group of rag-tag men as well as an overall feeling of patriotism behind the painting itself.

Historically speaking, the crossing of the Delaware River was a huge turning point in the Revolutionary war in favor of the Patriots. It was a cold, icy night on December 25, when Washington led his men to ambush the British camp with a surprise attack. With his decision to do such an act solely demonstrates how smart of a commander George Washington was. Leutze also does a very good job of displaying the type of leader Washington was, but in a completely different way. Rather than appealing to one’s logic, he shows Washington’s leadership physically. Within the painting itself, the focus is completely on the boat occupied by George Washington and a handful of his men, while every other boat is in the background behind them. This alone represents the leader in which the Commander in Chief was, because what kind of leader watches from behind as his supposed “followers” do the fighting? The answer is not a very good one. 

Along with Washington being in front of his men the Emanuel Leutze uses another method of demonstrating his leadership by how he is pictured on the boat. All of the other individuals on the boat excluding the soldier holding the flag are pictured sitting down. But Washington is standing dead in the middle with one knee hiked up on the side of the boat almost in a way that makes him seem superior over everyone else. Which is exactly what he was, being the leader of the entire patriot militia. But it does not stop at that, the other men inside the boat all seem to have their own job whether it is to hold the flag, row the boat, or push the ice out of the way. Everyone except for George Washington that is. He is pictured with his body turned toward the viewer and his chin held high as if he has no doubt the patriots will succeed. Which is one of the best qualities for a leader to have, because not a single soldier would follow someone without them having confidence in their own plan. The artist makes it certain that whoever is looking at this painting will know what type of leader George Washington was and what his character entailed.

On the other hand, Leutze uses similar techniques to display a sense of patriotism within the painting itself, as well as the feeling of patriotism the viewer receives from gazing upon the image. One of the most present themes throughout the entirety of the painting are the colors red, white, and blue, which happen to be the colors of the United States. When most people think about patriotism these three colors are usually what comes to mind. Leutze did a very good job of displaying these by dressing nearly everyone in the image in clothes that resemble those colors in some way. He also displays patriotism within the painting by placing the American flag dead in the middle of the piece, located directly behind George Washington. Not only does this placement of our nation’s flag bring and overall feeling of patriotism to the piece but it also once again demonstrates the patriotism of George Washington.

Moving away from the physical characteristics of George Washington and his men, a very important but much subtler part of this painting is the lighting pictured in the sky. Historically speaking, when Washington crossed the Delaware it was late at night which means the entire sky should be dark. But that isn’t the case in this painting. Emanuel Leutze uses shading in the background to make the side of the sky where the British camp was much brighter than the other side of the Delaware River, while including pure white streaks of light protruding from the clouds and shining down on the Commander in Chief and his men. This is so important because it acts as foreshadowing of George Washington leading his men to victory, creating a similar image to that of the sky opening up to heaven. With the crossing of the Delaware being the final turning point in the war, Leutze captures the feeling of achievement by the patriots with his use of shading in the sky and ultimately establishing George Washington as the savior of the United States.

There comes only a sense of respect for the men in this painting as you gaze upon it. But especially that of George Washington himself. Leutze does an excellent job in demonstrating the type of man and leader that Washington was with his use of placement and positioning of the Commander in Chief as well as the American flag along with his shading in the sky symbolizing Washington as the savior of the patriot army. The flag also helps to represent the patriotism behind the painting.  He portrays the theme of red, white, and blue very effectively and it cements in the significance of the patriots crossing the Delaware River and signifies nearly the entire Revolutionary War in one image by using specific elements and techniques within the painting.
