The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-12-17

upon dead Rebel, beating back the enemy
with the butt OF his musket. There is mag
nifcent action in this figure, which is in
itself O personifcation Of the valor of
Che rank and file of the Union army. To the
night the Rebels are marching up TO the
stone wall with fixed bayonets, and far be-
yond the well defined figures in the fore
ground mass of heads, tattered battle-Aags,
and Furnished arms are seen pressing on in
eager haste to join in the fray On the left
the Union soldiers are dashing forward to
meet the enemy, and the front ranks of the
combatants meet over the stone WALL which
runs in slightly diagonal direction towards
the left, nearly in the centre of the picture.
Along the line of the wall are seen the fash
of the muskets, the bristling of bayonets, the
clubbing of muskets, the fall of wounded and
slaughtered men, and all the innumerable in
cidents of fierce hand-to-hand conflict.
Mr.. Rothermel has been criticized un-
justly we think, for making the common
soldiers the heroes of his picture, and placing
the officers rather in the background. Get
tysburg was emphatically soldiers battle,
and while all honor and credit are due to the
officers who aided in winning the victory,
MIR. Rothermel's picture more truly repre-
sents the true character of the battle, and
gains in historical value as we'll as interest
by the adoption of this treatment.
General Meade was in another part of the
field at the time the particular incident
recorded by Mr.. Rothermel occurred, but
very properly he and q number of other dis
tinguished officers are introduced on the ex-
treme left. In this group are number Of
portraits of officers who figured prominently
in the battle. General Meade, his son
George, and Colonel Haskell, of his staff are
seen on horseback. General Hancock,
severely wounded, is near the centre of the
picture, and in the midst of the melee is seen
General Hunt, Chief of Artillery, firing his
revolver. General Webs, who had
command of the Philadelphia brigade,
is represented on foot. Colonel Bains,
Adjutant to General Webb, General Gibbons,
Colonel Wessner, General Bingham, Colonel
Mitchell, General Hall, Colonel Devereaux,
Major Roberts, Colonel Mason, Colonel
Hesser, and Captain McCuen are among the
most prominent of the Union offioers. On
the Rebel side are portraits of General Armis-
| tead and General Garnett. In addition to
| portraits of soldiers who participated in the
battle, and the aim of the artist has been to
| make the picture as literal as possible by in
cluding all the portraits obtainable.
| In the distance on each side the battle is
seen fiercely raging in different parts of the
field, and in the immediate foreground on
the right is depicted group of dead and
wounded Rebels, while on the extreme left
Union artillerymen are actively engaged in
working field piece. The ground is strewn
with muskets, broken drums, canteens, and
accoutrements of every description, and
pathetic incident of the battle is recorded in
the beautiful figure of poor little Union
drummer boy lying dead beside his instru-
| ment.
Colorists are not usually draughtsmen, and
Mr.. Rothermels weak point is his drawing.
His usual faults are not so apparent in this
picture as in some of his previous works, but
few Of the figures are really well drawn, and
! some of them are positively bad. As COM
| pensation for this the flesh is msgnifcently
painted, and the figures are full of life and
movement. The motion that fills the picture
| is one Of its most admirable qualities, and
the spectator can ALMOST imagine that he
| hears the noise and rush of the battle as he
gazes upon the animated scene that the artist
has represented. Simply as piece of paint
ing the picture is superb, and apart from its
size and the importance of its subject, it is
Mr.. Rothermels masterpiece.
1t may surprise many who are aware of Mr..
Rothermeis reputation as a colorist, and who
hear this work praised as color picture, to
find 80 little positive color in it. The pre-
! vailing tone is grey, but none but colorist
| of genius could have produced such a wonder
full harmony of tints, and whenever bit of
color ID introduced, as in the flags that wave
over the heads of the fighters, it tells with
remarkable effect. The sky, overhung by the
clouds of battle, is beautiful piece of paint
ing, and the landscape portion of the picture
is treated admirably. The bit of distance
to the right seen above the heads of the
Rebels and the view of Round Top upon the
left would be sufficient of themselves to make
Mr.. Rothermel's reputation as a landscape
painter.
Large as is the sum the artist will receive
for this work, it does not represent the full
| value of his labors. Since he undertook to
paint the picture he has devoted himself en-
tirely to it. The progress of the work has
involved the expenditure of large sum of
money, and the artists profits will not be by
any means what they would had he not de-
voted himself to this labor of love; for such
it has been to him. Some rathes censorious
remarks have been made in regard to the