![]() ![]() Warren’s lifeless body is cradled by his fellow patriots, recalling images of Christ having been removed from the cross and Benjamin West’s portrayal of British general James Wolfe dying on the Plains of Abraham during the French and Indian War-all symbols of heroic sacrifice for one’s ideals. His death at the hands of the British-making him the first martyred hero of the Revolution-is the central event of the painting. Joseph Warren, a leader of the patriot resistance to British tyranny in Boston who fought at Bunker Hill as an ordinary private, despite having been appointed a major general of the Massachusetts militia a few days earlier. One of the last men left facing the enemy was Dr. Completed in 1786, Trumbull’s oil painting depicts the climax of the battle, when the British overran the American redoubt and the patriots were forced to retreat. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the subject of John Trumbull’s first canvas in a series of history paintings of principal events of the American Revolution. The surprisingly effective conduct of the patriot troops at Bunker Hill encouraged American enlistments and discouraged the British from attempting another assault, allowing the newly formed Continental Army to maintain the Siege of Boston until the arrival of Henry Knox’s artillery train in March 1776 finally forced the British to evacuate the city. Three waves of professional British soldiers advanced up the hillside before the patriots abandoned their positions, having inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. In response to patriot troops taking up positions on Breed’s Hill overlooking Boston, the British sent three thousand men to dislodge the Americans and take the hill for themselves. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first major battle of the Revolutionary War, occurring two months after the opening battles at Lexington and Concord and the beginning of the patriot siege of Boston. The Battle of Bunker’s Hill, Jby John Trumbull, 1786 Yale University Art Gallery This list of ten great Revolutionary War paintings-highlighting works in both American and European collections-follows the course of the war through dramatic and compelling scenes of struggle, violence and triumph that illuminate the vast scope of this world-wide conflict. They also remind us to ask why these works were created and what memorializing these scenes meant to the people who commissioned them, the artists who painted them and the viewers who gazed upon them. ![]() They are among the best sources we have to convey what events and places of the Revolution looked like. Often using eyewitness accounts and their own observations of the setting, these artists created paintings with accurate details as well as emotionally evocative scenes. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |