by Caden Albert

I chose an image from the during the American Revolution regarding the taxation of America colonists. I really didn’t know what to expect, but this is one of the first images that I found that wasn’t a document or letter of some sort. I was shocked to see this image due to the layers of detail within it.

First, it seems that an angel is projecting an image of a revolutionary battle on a sheet or window covering. This was INSANE to me because how did the artist think of this? Projecting an image onto something else certainly isn’t something from this time, but it’s found clear as day here. It really could be a coincidence that an angel is providing a lens for the future, but it still was pretty damn cool to me.

Secondly, the characters in this room were of such diversity. An angel is the one projecting, two women seem to be discussing the image, a black woman looks upon it scared along side a Native American. This really differed from a lot of the other images that I found at first and definitely different from images that we have seen in class. Interestingly, it looks like there is a Native American man leading the charge at the battle “on screen.”

I couldn’t find anything about it on the website, but the text at the bottom would suggest to me that this was printed in someplace like a newspaper? Some of the language is English, but some other words that are faded at the bottom look like Latin.

Another thing that I found really interesting is the amount of detail found in this drawing. I have to assume it is a drawing because of the lack of color other than the shading and the fact that it was probably printed. To start with the foreground, the two white women look to be of high stature due to their clothing and items that they are holding. I also think the location that they are in is of Roman architecture because of the two huge pillars in the top right corner as well as the drapes and tassel hanging down from the ceiling.

Similarly to a lot of the readings we have done and artwork about Washington, this piece looks like the artist wants to make the American colonists backed by God. The spear, shield, and angel watching over the battle all point to this conclusion. This battle does involve everyone in the colonies and is represented by the black woman and Native American watching over from a distance as well.

I really do think the coolest part of this piece is the projection of the battle on the drapes. To see a technology that didn’t exist until over a century later included in a piece like this is absolutely insane. It does look exactly like a projector because of its ring of light as well as the device the angel is holding. Also, with the rest of the drapes being white and plain, it is clear that this is a live projection.