Artist Albrecht Dürer’s painting “The Four Horsemen, from The Apocalypse”, is my first work. The painting was made in 1498 and medium used for the painting is woodcut.it was made during German Renaissance era and has dimensions 1′ 3.25″ × 11.5″. It is placed at Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The second painting is of Emanuel Leutze having a title “Washington Crossing the Delaware”. The painting is linked with American history and was displayed in 1851 at Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Artist used oil on canvas as a medium for the painting with dimensions 12′ 5″ × 21′ 3″.
Common theme:
Both paintings Washington Crossing Delaware and The Four Horsemen, from The Apocalypse, are showing the theme of war and determination. When you are determined then you can face every situation easily and with full preparation even if it is the time of battle or war. The person who is determined at the time of war or carry required weapons with him always met with success.
Personal Experience
Both paintings show the theme of determination that must be present in every person lives in order to get success in every sphere of life. I have been very determined in many of my major decisions in life. I selected my career and I have been determined to achieve my mission. Also, determination calls for struggle in the life. And I believe in struggle personally and work
Professional Experience
I have personally observed Albrecht Dürer work and in this specific piece of art, he had also paid attention towards every detail to fully convey his message in the painting using woodcut as a medium. As a substitute of classical tranquillity, he is portraying deep emotions of people who are using their hands to cover their faces. They are hiding from imminent horrors of the war. The message here is taken from the book of revelation and it is further enhanced with the use of specific colours. The revelation of St John is a widespread subject used for the purpose of showing the g bravery during middle ages, in different paintings by different artists.
There is white colour showing the triumph, red is showing battle, black is taken as the depiction of famine, and pale is showing the death. The white horse had a rider with bow and had a voice of thunder; also possessed a crown that is showing his success in the battle. This rider is like a prince who is supposed to wear his tiara and is a human being. The second horse is in red colour and is representing the battle. The aim behind this horse is to take eliminate the peace form the earth. He is also carrying a sword with him that is further strengthening the objective of depicting the horsed used for the purpose of war. The third horse painted is of black colour and is the depiction of the feminine. The rider here is shown as a tax collector. He is carrying a pair of scales in his hand and is aimed to cause starvation on the earth. However, there is a difference in the depiction of the message of revelation also. In the Bible, horses were only used for the purpose of unleashing of hell. Bu in the painting, riders have a bow along with war sword. There is also a fork carried by the pale rider. But in the Bible, there is no weapon associated with the horse.
“Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851” by Emanuel Leutze has a theme of bravery and determination of Washington for the independence. Emanuel Leutze painting is an idealized artistic interpretation of a real historical occurrence using oil on canvas as a medium. It was first displayed at the Stuyvesant Hall in New York in 1851. This painting was originally held in an engraved and golden wooden frame. It was 21 feet and three inches long and it was a 12 feet, five inches tall. There was an eagle at the top of the frame that was carrying a banner having words related to the bravery of the leader depicted in the painting. The huge size of the picture makes the actions of people in the picture very close to reality (Hotez, 2012). It is included in one of the important images in the history of American art but surprisingly it is finished by an artist who belonged to Germany. Artist has painted three descriptions of Washington Crossing Delaware (Peacock, 2007). The situation of the revolutionary war is depicted in the painting by showing the George Washington crossing the Delaware River along with his troops.
Humanities Resources
My first source is from Cambridge University Press and other is from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin.
Historical Context
Washington Crossing Delaware is depicting national myth of that time effectively; head out by an intense grey sky along with the use of Washington a symbol of unbeatable determination. The painting has everything in motion except Washington, who in the picture is shown as a leader (Cheney, 2012). His calmness in the painting is showing his determination for getting the success in the war. The painting was created in Germany by Leutze, who had limited admittance to historical records. Thus, there are flaws in the painting due to this nonavailability of evidence.
I have observed some differences with reference to that era. For example, in the painting, the true boats used at that time are not used. The painting has boats that are much smaller as compared to Durham boats. The purpose of the use of small boats is to make emphasis over men in the boat instead of the boat itself. Delaware River, in reality, is not same as shown in the painting (Barratt, 2011).Moreover, in history, this incident happened in the middle of the night; Leutze shows the crossing occurring at the break of dawn. Characters painted by the painter are showing the racial inclusion and social inequality. Moreover, soldiers are crossing the river in cold and this is true deception of that time. Swollen Delaware River had ice on Christmas day due to the falling of temperature. It was a strategy used by Washington to cross the river before a snow storm. Furthermore, mostly there is a use of soft blues, greys as well as browns in the painting. The only bright colour used is red used ion Washington’s boat.
Albrecht Dürer’s painting “The Four Horsemen, from The Apocalypse”, has a theme grounded in the Book of Revelation (6:1–8). Arousal of danger and determination in the war is the basic theme of the painting. The purpose is to connect the end of the world with a biblical book of Revelation. In the Book of Revelation, Chapter 6 there is the opening of first of seven seals by the Lamb of God. The four beings shown in the painting got summoned after the opening of first of seven seals. These Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are in the last book of the New Testament. There is a white horse in the painting that is Christ, himself. According to Book of revelation, there is book or scroll in God’s hand and it is sealed with seven seals. There is Lamb of God, who unlocks the first four of the seven seals and with this, there was a summons for four riders. These riders had white, red, black, and pale horses (Cunningham & Grell, 2000). These four riders actually are used to show the symbol of takeover, battle, starvation as well as death. These horses’ hooves are crushing people from left to right. This situation in the painting is linked with the Christian belief that people should be prepared at every time under any circumstances as Jesus Christ can come at any time. People in the painting must be aware of the coming of these horses so that they might not have crushed under the hooves of those different clouted horses.
Similarities and Differences
The end result is different in both paintings. The end results of painting The Four Horsemen, from The Apocalypse are in the form of destruction while in “Washington Crossing Delaware” there is the success at the end.
References
Barratt, C. R. (2011). ” Washington Crossing the Delaware” and the Metropolitan Museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 69(2), 4-19.
Cunningham, A., & Grell, O. P. (2000). The four horsemen of the apocalypse: Religion, war, famine, and death in Reformation Europe. Cambridge University Press.
Cheney, L. (2012). When Washington Crossed Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots. Simon and Schuster.
Hotez, P. J. (2012). The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Tropical Medicine in the Fight against Plague, Death, Famine, and War†† Presidential address given at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, December 7, 2011, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 87(1), 3-10.
Peacock, L. (2007). Crossing Delaware: A history of many voices. Simon and Schuster.
