Death of General Warren
John Trumbull, June 17 1775
Artist bio (Ahmed El-Rayes)
John Trumbull (June 6, 1756 – November 10, 1843) was an American artist who was active during the American Revolutionary period. During the war, Trumbull experienced (first hand) many of the tragedies and realities of the war.Trumbull was most well known for his historical paintings, most of which were of the revolutionary war. For example, his declaration of independence, is shown on the reverse of the 2 dollar bill. During the Revolutionary war, he served the revolutionaries by making sketches of british works. After the war, he continued to make paintings regarding the revolution, such as the Death of General Warren.
Story Truth (Raymond Biju)
The British have besieged boston for too long, and now as Americans, we are emboldened to fight for our freedom at last. despite the superior training of the british army, the bravery of our men has evoked a sense of patriotism in American citizens. Unfortunately, after courageously holding back 2 waves of British firepower, the tide of the battle shifted towards the British, not due to lack of skill in our fighters, but due to lack of munitions. However unfortunate our setback, the British, in their cruelty, did not relent.
I saw it as it happened, before my eyes, the noble General Warren staying behind to help his men retreat from the advancing British forces was unceremoniously gunned down by a British lackey. The lights from heaven seemed to shine down on that hero’s broken body, as the dark clouds of oppression rolled in from the bay. Time seemed to stop as America experienced a loss of one of it’s greatest heros. The chaos of the battle was lost on those few who were around Warren at the time, as even the laws of perception seemed to fall into disarray at the sight of the loss of such a noble man. It pains me to know that amid the horrors of this god-forsaken war, the memory of such a man could fade into the dirt. The least I can do is to commemorate this fallen hero in the only way I know: painting. I will depict him in such a way that his legacy will befit his actions for all posterity to admire and strive for.
Art Critique (Jose Polo Valverde Plascencia)
Point of View: The painting has an American point of view because General Warren is depicted as a war hero dying a virtuous death.The virtuous death, like Jesus in the Pieta, is a way for an artist to show that some one in the painting has died for the good of others. Warren is also the focal point of the painting because he has the most light focused on him. Since Warren is painted in a good light, the point of view is American.
Purpose: This painting was commissioned by the Warren family, so it is for remembrance of an important and loved person in their family.
Tone: The tone of the painting is very somber you can see the sadness in the American soldiers that their good friend has died, and they are trying to protect him from further harm as the British soldiers did not stop attacking when Warren was hurt. The tone also includes anger because the Americans are furious that the British killed their beloved comrade.
Line: The painting looks like you could draw a big diagonal line throughout the whole thing from the top right of the painting to the bottom left of the painting, and it would separate the battle from the sky. This imaginary line leads your eye from the top right of the painting to the bottom left of the painting allowing you to see the whole painting and take it all in. Near the middle of this line (a bit below it) is General Warren dying.
Color: The colors are interesting in this piece because they get brighter as you get closer to the middle. The colors at the borders of the painting are dark and almost black while the colors as you near the middle get lighter like the bright reds and the whites of Warren’s clothes. Warren is the brightest part of the painting, and this technique uses color to move the eye to the center of the painting (focus)
Balance: The overwhelming red color of the British soldiers creates an imbalance in the painting and it makes it seem like there are more British soldiers than there actually are. General Warren is in the foreground to make sure that he is what you see first (focus). The background of the painting shows even more British running to continue the battle which also gives the feeling that there are more British soldiers than Americans.
Pattern: The symbolism in this piece includes the virtuous death that Warren is depicted in. He has one of his arms hanging from his side and his face looks innocent like Jesus when he was carried by his mother in Michelangelo’s Pieta.
Happening truth (Raymond Biju)
General Joseph Warren was a volunteer in the American armed forces; however, this did not mean that he did not have experience defending his country. He served as a volunteer in the Committee of Safety for MAssachusetts, and he was highly respected in this post. During the battle, his forces repelled 2 of 3 waves of British attack. During the third, a shortage of ammunition resulted in the British attack succeeding, leading to the death of Warren during the evacuation of the post. The Battle of Bunker Hill was one of the first during the revolutionary war. The battle was instrumental in keeping Boston free from British occupation. The battle ended in defeat for the Revolutionaries, but heavy losses for the British encouraged morale and identified many meritable soldiers for the American cause. The actual death of Warren probably went with less notice than what is depicted in the painting, as it occurred during a time of violence and scion.
Story Truth (Sebastian Haggerty)
There was a great battle at bunker hill. General Warren had fought a very noble fought. Be had been a volunteer in the colonial army and had quickly rose up the ranks to General. The battle of bunker Bill was incredibly important to the Americans.it helped to keep the British out of Boston. Warren had valiantly staved off multiple waves of attacks from the british. In the third wave the British, by a stroke of luck were able to kill General warren in the most noble way. He was killed defending his troops and died in order to save many of them. The colonists had fell short of their necessary ammunition.This led them to evacuate the fort. Unfortunately this did not end well for General Warren. General Warren had been as great of a general as one anyone ever. It was a true tragedy, everyone on both sides temporarily stopped fighting for a brief second or so to reflect upon the greatness that had been General warren. It made the day unquantifiably more somber. It was truly a sad day to lose General Warren