Baptism of Pocahontas, by Artist, John Gadsby Chapman
The painting, Baptism of Pocahontas, is a gorgeous painting by John Gadsby Chapman. “John Chapman received the commission for the Rotunda painting in 1837.” It was not until 1840 that “the painting was delivered to the U.S. Capitol and installed.” In this fantastic painting, Pocahontas is the center of it all. It seems as though the artist has put her in the center to single her out. She was “thought to be the earliest native convert to Christianity in the English colonies.” He put her all in white to show the purity of her life before marrying John Rolfe. Also, because white is a pure and clean color which also represents a new life and a baptism definitely shows a clean start. …show more content…
“This small painting … was instrumental in securing for the 61-year-old artist a commission to create monumental paintings for the U.S. Capitol. Trumbull created the enlarged painting for the Rotunda between August 1817 and September 1818. On October 5, 1818, the painting was put on public view at the American Academy of Fine Arts in New York.”
In Trumbull’s painting, the Declaration of Independence, he was trying to show “the first draft of the Declaration of Independence” being presented. It seems as if he really tried to give the sense of anticipation of the draft being presented to Congress. Everyone that is sitting in the chairs and the people that are standing at the table look anxious to see if Congress is going to approve or reject the declaration. During this time the Revolutionary War was going on. The nation wanted to gain independence. Therefore, a committee was formed, the one that is seen in this painting to try to gain independence. So, a document was created and presented to gain their independence.
The way the artist showed great detail when it came to the gentlemen in the very front handing the document to Congress and how every eye is on Congress displays great communication in his painting. A person not even been there during this period could almost feel like they were