Washington Crossing the Delaware
1851
George Washington stands heroically in a small boat, braving the icy Delaware River on a stormy night in 1776. Leutze painted this massive masterpiece in Germany decades after the actual event, prioritizing dramatic patriotism over historical accuracy—like the flag shown, which wasn't actually adopted until months later! The painting is so huge (over 21 feet wide) that it was damaged by a fire in the artist's studio and later by a bomb in WWII, yet it remains one of America's most iconic images of determination and grit. It hangs in the Met, where visitors can marvel at its sheer scale.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
- Material
- Canvas
- Dimensions
- 370.5 cm × 647.7 cm
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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