1816 -1868 · Painting of German-American history and revolutionary imagination

Heroic gestures, powerful diagonals, legible crowds and dramatic light make Leutze a major constructor of the American historical imagination.

Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze was born in 1816 in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Württemberg, and emigrated as a child with his family to the United States. He grew up in Philadelphia, began painting portraits then returned to Europe in 1840 to study at the Düsseldorf Academy. He enrolled in a history painting school based on drawing, clear narration and great composition. His subjects mixed European history, Christopher Columbus and the American Revolution. Painted in Düsseldorf in 1850 -1851, Washington crossing Delaware transposed an episode from 1776 into a monumental scene: unstable boat, ice, flag and sunrise organize a collective momentum. Leutze also wishes to encourage them contemporary European liberal movements. Exhibited in New York, the painting quickly attracted tens of thousands of visitors and became a central image of American culture. Returning permanently to the United States in 1859, he painted portraits and national episodes. His vast fresco Towards the West, the Empire continues its path for the Capitol in Washington extends this civic ambition, while revealing the myths and contradictions of expansion. Leutze died in Washington in 1868. The "Emanuel Leutze" selection continues its path for the Capitol in Washington, extending this civic ambition, while revealing the myths and contradictions of expansion. Leutze died in Washington in 1868. The "Emanuel Leutze" selection notably pitted Washington crossing Delaware and Christopher Columbus against the council of Salamanca. His reading favors space.

Leutze composes history as a shared movement: gestures, looks, flag and light lead each figure towards the same event.