New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-05-29
Leutze's New Painting

A fsoIussly, like the summer flowers thatlIa
1 - - 'ne green pain, beneath your gamesoma tread,
| & --==--s=
Leutze's New Painting.
| WASHINGTON AT THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH
a correspondent Of the N. Y. Times, writing
from Berlin, gives absorption of the last work
OF Leutze, which is now on exhibition in Berlin
from which we make the following extract.
10 the background on the left small cabin is
introduced upon gentle eminence : the pronngf
is broken and partially wooded This seems s',, ~
be the point of concentration of the British
tofces; the extreme point upon the opposite side
OF the painting is occupied by BODY Of Amer;-
| can troops. a commanding eminence in tba
centre has just been gained by few Americans
with some pieces Of artillery The decliyity
presents number Of scattered soldiers retreat
ing towards the right, from which an oeca s;o,,a
discharge Of musketry is kept up in tie dree.
ton OF the enemy Approaching from the left.
toward the middle ground, is the retreating de-
tachment OF Americans under the cofnmand oe
Gen Lee and led by this officer, when they are
met met by Washington, followed closely by Gems.
Lafayette and Hamilton 15 X,
The point of time which the artist has seize,5
is that OF Gen. Washington's rencontre with ti,e
retreating troops, and his stern reprimand N,
Lee ten. Washington rides fercely up with
his sword raised in his right hand, his counten-
anee Indicates astonishment and determination II
mingled with suppressed passion The drapary,
IN the figure Of Washington is mastery in its
execution, and indeed this must be said Of most
of the stiH iife introduced in this painting but
the srtlst has most unhappily failed in riyinp
that characteristic expression of the Poter pa
Igad winch we, Americans, so mussa love Tbe
washington OF Leutze, as represenbed in this
picture, might be in good taste for the ideal az
y osssar, 2 Napoleon, or perhaps more strictly
speaklng, OF our fierce and eccentric Putnam,
on some of his hair breadth exploits: but. # 10
most certainly wanting in those charactefistics
which, among military chiefs, belonged 80 ex
clusiVeiy to Washington. Again the attitude
OF the horse upon which he is mounted. leaning
IN the air, would be perhaps a happy represent.
aiion OF Bucephalus, and reminds one somewhat
Of the attitude of the charger in Dayid's picture
Of Of Napoleon y crossing the great St. Bernard y
Inc hrst impression of the figure Of Washington |
upon the mind is even painful--it seems that
the liberty the artist has taken in thus repre-
senting him is almost sacrilegious
IN extenuation of this is the fact that the |
moment which the artist has seized was one Of |
great excitement, and necessarily embodying |
great action In fact, it has been related that |
!hls .l was the only occasion in which Gen WASH
lngton was known to exhibit great wrath. and.
as 1t has sometimes been said, to forget himself
SO Tar as to give vent to an oath But then. /
would ask, is it in good taste for the artist ia
seize this single exception to the whole general
character OF Washington, to embody it in
work OF art' Historically speaking, this may
oe correct; but 1t certainly is not as we Ameri- |
cans like to see the Father of his Country,'
77'5 |
The figure of Gen Lee is managed with great !
artistic skill and truthfulness, and strikes me \
as by far the finest point in the picture Morti-
lied pride, unyielding stubbornness, and sup
pressed wrath. all are wonderfully depicted in
quailing under the whitening wrath |
Of the Commander in Chief.
Immediately behind Washington are Lafay-
cite and Hamilton These figures are well in
troduced; and the likeness of Lafayette struck
me as good, from some representations have
seen OF him in early life. That of Hamilton / |
should consider more questionable.
Occupying the centre of the picture, immedi-
ately IN the foreground, is a pool of water, sur
eonnaed by heritage Of green SO deep and
bright as to present striking contrast with the
'erdure IN other portions of the picture; but
ms IS not, perhaps, out of place, as the mois-
'ure might produce this effect in such locality
wen upon day so oppressively sultry as that ,
IN which this battle occurred A dog, ap-
'afently painting with heat, has jumped into 4
me water, and Is luxuriating in its refreshing .
'oolness; very happy mode of giving an i'm
PRESTON of the intense heat of the day. On the =
eft IS the figure of a soldier, who has dropped 1
n state OF exhaustion upon the green margin i
i the pool. His eye is fixed upon the water | +
lis right hand extended towards it, as if yainly !
attempting to reach it his left hand is clasped
round the arm Of a hardy, sun burnt leather !
tocking : character, habited in the wild garb
II Western trapper. His strongly-marked | !
md weather beaten face is turned, with an ex- In
'resslon of great interest, towards the Com 1
hander-in Chief, forgetful of the two suffering !
bJects who cling one upon either side of him. !
The grouping at the left is spirited, and alto