War is... Compelling Propaganda

Images of war have been around throughout America’s history, whether it be paintings or actual photographs. When Images of America at war could only be painted, most pieces of art seem to have a bias. The art made during the Revolutionary War era were based off of stories of Americans doing heroic acts in war, and that is how they were constructed. Many details in the artwork were crafted in order to make war appeal to the U.S citizens who had never seen the battlefield. Washington Crossing The Delaware by Emanuel Leutze is a tremendous example of such art. This visual of George Washington crossing the river exemplifies the notion of Glory. As he stands on one knee, he is peering forward as if there was no fear in his eyes. The Light is shining down from the sky in a way that puts this great leader of America on a pedestal. The crossing in fact happened during the middle of the night and not during the day. The painter clearly uses light as a prominent factor in this piece in order to show the prowess of George Washington and America. The painting lacks the horror and dismay many of the soldiers had to go through, but in doing this America is drawn out to be powerful and invincible to the people that would see this artwork. It makes the viewer want to believe that war was just glory, honor, and a powerful nation, leaving out the blood, gore, and defeat. The image of success is what compels one to view America a certain way that is a stretch from the truth. Propaganda is defined as, ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and that are spread in order to help a cause, a political leader, a government, etc. This piece indeed “exaggerates” in order to make Americans feel more patriotic and believe that their country is the most glorious, however they fail to see the violence and ugliness of war.

Emanuel Leutze. Washington Crossing The Delaware. Digital image.Amazonnaws.com. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://s3.amazonaws.com/mtv-main-assets/files/pages/crossing-the-delaware-web-2.jpg>.

 "Propaganda." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.