Art During The Revolutionary Era

My decade is the Revolutionary Era, from the years of 1775 to 1783. Two of the most prominent American artists during this time were John Singleton Copley and Benjamin West. Both of these artists' art styles were realistic and both were influential to future artists.

            John Singleton Copley was born in Boston in the year of 1738. The artists that influenced him were Peter Pelham and John Smibert. While John resided in America he was a portrait painter. Then when he moved to London in the year of 1774 he painted religious and historical occurrences on a much bigger scale. Among his works are The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar in the year of 1782, The Death of Major Pierson in the year of 1782, Watson and the Shark in the year of 1778, and The Death of the Earl of Chatham in the year of 1779 which are all realism paintings because of the linear perspective, shadows of the people giving it value and three dimensional effect. The intensity of emotions and pain going on and the plain beauty of the way these events are captured is simply amazing.

            Benjamin West was born on October 10,1738 near what is now know as Springfield, Pennsylvania. In 1763 he moved the England. In 1792 he was elected president of the Royal Academy. He died years later on March 11, 1820 in London, England. A number of his works include The Death of Wolfe in the year of 1770, Colonel Guy Johnson in the year of 1775, The Battle of La Hogue in the year of 1782, and The Three Sisters in the year of 1783 which are all realism paintings and sketches because of the events and the intensity of the emotion portrayed in the paintings with the use of value, three dimensionality, linear perspective, and shadow.

            This decade is filled with important events, movements, and people, but also includes some important American artists. These artists specialized in realist paintings and they were definitely masters of the form. They're realistic style would turn out to be influenced not only on the next decade but the next age. Artists today are very much influenced by the realist painters of the past.  

SSources:

http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg60b/gg60b-34063.0.html

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/john_singleton_copley

            http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/summer97/copley.html

            http://www.ibiblio.org/wmpaint/auth/west

            http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/psearch?request=a&person=32850