Professor Gorman's Art History Lesson (Part 1)

Hey folks,

After seeing the congressman I interned for taking on Obama during last week's Health Care Summit and my overall pining for D.C., I've decided to reminisce a little and give my long-awaited lecture on some history of the art adorning the Capitol rotunda.

Around the rotunda are large oil paintings depicting different important events in the founding of our country. They are: the landing of Columbus, discovery of the Mississippi River, the Pilgrims on the Mayflower, the baptism of Pocahontas (she actually appears in the rotunda three times), the Declaration of Independence, the surrender of General Burgoyne, the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, and George Washington resigning his military commission.

Four of them: Burgoyne's surrender, Cornwallis' surrender, the Declaration of Independence, and Washington resigning his commission were painted by the famed John Trumbull. In these next few posts, I'm going to give some fun history on the paintings as well as explain the story behind them.

Now unfortunately for Trumbull, since he was commissioned to paint these for the federal government he was not allowed to sign them. However, Trumbull found ways around that...he would paint himself into the scene! He had a rule though: he was either be fourth from the edge or fourth from the American flag AND he was always looking away from the center of attention.

Let's start off easy...can you find Trumbull in "The Surrender of General Burgoyne"?

Did you see him?

There is he is! On the horse, looking away, fourth from the left!


Alright, that was a warm-up. Let's get to our first topic..."The Declaration of Independence!"

Do you see Trumbull in the photo? He is fourth from the left edge, looking away from the others.

Most people have probably seen this photo at some point, it is the most famous of the brood. It depicts Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Roger Sherman, et al. presenting the Declaration of Independence to the President of the Continental Congress John Hancock. First things first, let get some history out of the way...

...this picture is completely and utterly false. This never happened! There was no grand ceremony, no large signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was actually signed in secret, one by one, at secret locations. Think of it like trying to pass a note in middle school. Remember, the men who signed it were thought of as traitors, if the Brits got their mitts on this it would basically act as a list of the leaders of the revolution.

Which brings us to the Founding Fathers. Some of you history buffs out there may know that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams weren't too fond of each other. They both were intensely competitive and intensely jealous of one another. They would make penny bets on everything from who could quote longer passages from the Bible to who would become President first...they even made a bet on who would die first. This is where it gets eerie. They died on the same day...July 4th, 1826. Exactly 50 years to the day that they signed the Declaration of Independence! As Adams lay dying, thinking his nemesis would outlive him, said his last words, "Jefferson lives." Unbeknown to Adams, Jefferson had actually died earlier in the day.

Anyways, when Trumbull was painting this both were still alive and Jefferson offered the artist a place to stay while he finished the painting. They became fast friends and Jefferson reportedly asked Trumbull a favor while he painted: made him look better than Adams. Trumbull acquiesced and what we have is two very distinct figures. Take a look...

Look at the contrasts! Jefferson is portrayed tall and regal, standing straight. He is a wearing a bright orange vest with a navy overcoat. He is also standing in the position of power, with both hands on the document.


Take a look at Adams on the far left, he is pudgy and ashed-faced. He is wearing drab clothing and is standing off to the side, hand on his hip--almost an afterthought.


But he's the kicker (no pun intended). Look at their feet...





Jefferson's right foot is clearly stepping on Adams--a sign of dominance. There's no mistaking who Trumbull wanted to portray as the most powerful man in the painting. Sometime I guess it makes sense to make friends with those depicting you...


Anyways, this is the first in a three part series over the next week or so on the rotunda art history and the little tidbits in the painting of John Trumbull. That's it for this week, guys.


Class dismissed!