The most famous image of the American Revolution was painted in Germany by a German-born artist. Emanuel Leutze made Washington Crossing the Delaware in Düsseldorf in 1851, working from his imagination of the night of December 25 to 26, 1776, when Washington led the Continental Army across the ice-choked river before the attack on Trenton.
Leutze had grown up in the United States, and he was close to the liberal movements that shook Europe in 1848. Many accounts say he hoped the picture of a people's army winning against the odds would encourage the cause of liberty in Germany. The painting is huge, roughly twelve feet by twenty-one, so that the figures appear close to life size.
Historians have enjoyed pointing out what he got wrong. The boats are not the type used on the river, the flag shown was not adopted until the following year, and standing up in a small boat in a storm would be an odd choice for a general. None of this has hurt its fame. It works as a legend rather than a record, with the light breaking in the east behind the oarsmen.
Leutze painted two versions. The first was damaged in a fire in his studio and later destroyed in a bombing raid on Bremen in 1942. The second, which is the one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is the one that became part of American memory.
Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware appears on our:
- Emanuel Leutze 'Washington Crossing the Delaware' Poster
- Washington Crossing the Delaware Shirt
- Washington Crossing the Delaware Tee
- Washington Crossing the Delaware Hoodie
- Washington Crossing the Delaware Mug
- Washington Crossing the Delaware Velveteen Plush Blanket
- Washington Crossing the Delaware Jigsaw Puzzle