Museum of Fine Arts Boston

The Passage of the Delaware 1819 by Thomas Sully

Review by Dariya Apsenbetova

March 12, 2014 

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is split into different sections of parts of the world and eras. The painting that I found interesting was in Art of America during the 1800s by Thomas Sully, The Passage of the Delaware. The collections themself by different great artists were devoted to historical events and famous people in America during the XVI-XIX centuries. One of the great artists, Thomas Sully became a professional painter at age 18 in 1801. He studied portrait painting under Gilbert Stuart in Boston for three weeks. After some time in Virginia with his brother, Sully moved to New York. Later, he flew to Philadelphia and lived there in 1808, but soon afterwards made a trip to London to study with Benjamin West. In England, Sully also studied the paintings produced by other contemporary artists. He was especially influenced by the fluid style of Sir Thomas Lawrence’s portraits.

            The Passage of the Delaware, Sully had suggested to the governor of North Carolina because this event was a significant event for the American military. It was during the Revolution and took place on Christmas night in 1776. On the painting there are General George Washington and his troops unexpectedly crossed the dangerously ice-clogged Delaware River from Pennsylvania to New Jersey in a snowstorm. Sully made a strong contrast of light between Washington and surrounding darkness because he wanted Washington to stand out and show this emphasizes of the General’s importance. For linear perspective Sully used the soldiers going into the battle, gradually getting smaller, on the left hand side. Also the color changes of the sky into a gray-tan combination to help give the viewer the idea that there are many people and that they are spread out. It’s an unusual composition, whose action, instead of being centered as is normally done, is all off on the right side. Sully has turned a crucial juncture in time and history into a timeless work of art.