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Washington is often painted on a white horse, but this is probably an artistic conceit to emphasize his figure in a painting. He in fact rode two favorite horses throughout the Revolution - NELSON, a sorrel, and BLUESKIN, a blue roan. The artist's depiction is of Washington's horse probably at a gallop, and may be copied from Emmanuel Leutze’s “Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth", painted in 1854. The galloping horse was inaccurately depicted in art, with both fore and rear legs fully extended, until Edward Muybridge's late 19th-century photographic studies revealed the animal's natural gait. The composition is typical for early 19th-century history paintings in which the important events, which might take place over one or two days, are conflated into one imaginative image.
Artist
M. M. Sanford
Washington at Princeton, Fall of General Hugh Mercer
Date1855-1865
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsSight: 34 × 53 3/4 in. (86.4 × 136.5 cm)
Object numberN0042.1961
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Stephen C. Clark
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextThe figure of a military leader on horseback has been credited throughout history with the rallying of troops on the verge of defeat. In this painting George Washington (at center, on a white horse) rallies the forces of the fallen General Hugh Mercer at the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777. Washington's boldness - he came within 100 feet of the British troops - rattled the enemy, and with the help of reinforcements the American troops were victorious. Here only officers ride horses, rare and expensive accoutrements of war at this time. Washington was continually concerned about the army's horses and felt that victory was contingent on maintaining their condition.Washington is often painted on a white horse, but this is probably an artistic conceit to emphasize his figure in a painting. He in fact rode two favorite horses throughout the Revolution - NELSON, a sorrel, and BLUESKIN, a blue roan. The artist's depiction is of Washington's horse probably at a gallop, and may be copied from Emmanuel Leutze’s “Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth", painted in 1854. The galloping horse was inaccurately depicted in art, with both fore and rear legs fully extended, until Edward Muybridge's late 19th-century photographic studies revealed the animal's natural gait. The composition is typical for early 19th-century history paintings in which the important events, which might take place over one or two days, are conflated into one imaginative image.
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