paul revere portrait of a revolutionary war hero
TRANSCRIPT
PAUL REVERE
Portrait of a
Revolutionary War
Hero
• For the next several weeks we are going to be learning more about the American Revolution.
• Particularly, Paul Revere
• But first let’s do a little review…
Living in the Colonies
• It is important to remember that …..
• People living in the Colonies considered themselves British citizens.
• SO NOW FOR A LITTLE AMERICAN
HISTORY REFRESHER…….
1740
• Parliament passed a law permitting citizenship to people who have lived in the colonies for 7 years. It also allowed any citizen of the colonies to carry his or her citizenship from colony to colony. A sense of togetherness was created.
1754-1763• French and Indian War (or in Europe it is called the
7 years War) was about a land disagreement between the French in North America. The colonists bring British Regular Troops to the colonies. Colonial militias fight alongside the troops. Although Britain and its American colonies win the war, colonists are put off by the obvious arrogance exhibited by British commanders toward them. Colonists also learn first hand how little the “Titled Elite” of England think of them. Many in Britain consider Americans to be second class English citizens and of peasant class, incapable of defending themselves.
1760
• George III becomes England’s king after the death of his grandfather,
King George II, courtesy of hereditary succession. (Rights passed down from father [grandfather] to son)
So King George III took his reign during the French and Indian war. (aka. 7 yrs. War)
More Acts & Taxes Imposed• The Sugar Act - April 1764 tax on sugar and other items
that has a big negative impact on markets with which colonies trade.
• The Currency Act – 1764 colonies cannot issue their own paper money.
• The Stamp Act – March 1765 colonies are angry because they are not part of parliament – no vote or say so. Also newspapers are restricted.
“No Taxation without representation!” The Quartering Act – March 1765 requires colonist to
allow British Troops to stay in their homes.
These Acts severely curtail mercantile trade in the colonies.
And More regulations and taxes…
• Declaratory Act – March 1766 Parliament says it can make laws for the colonies as needed.
• August 1766 the NY legislature is suspended by English authorities after it refuses to enforce Quartering Act.
• June 1767 – “Townsend Acts” The stamp act is a complete failure and is canceled. But paint, paper, glass, lead, and tea are now taxed as they arrive in the colonies. Angry colonists
In 1763, By Royal Proclamation
• The western lands (West of Appalachians) were given back to the Indians and bans colonial settlement there.
• This was a BIG DEAL because a war was just fought to claim this land. Colonists died in that war. The future growth of the colonies was again in doubt.
• Although the law was soon changed, colonists grow suspicious of England.
Things are heating up more …
• Massachusetts Circular letter- Feb. 1768 is written by Samuel Adams attacking Parliament for their continued taxation. Adams calls for unification of the colonies.
• Sept 1768 - English warships sail into Boston Harbor and English Infantry move into Boston to “keep order.”
Tension Mounts
• March 1769 the House of Burgesses is dissolved by the Royal Governor in Williamsburg, Va. The House of Burgesses was the first legislature in the English colonies and first met at Jamestown, 1619.
• March 5, 1770 the Boston Massacre British troops where hanging around and paid little and looked for part-time work. Tensions were high, fights broke out which eventually led to the “massacre.”
November 1772
• Samuel Adams creates the “Committees of Correspondence” to inform the towns, providences and colonies of what was happening in Boston.
May 1773
• The British East India Tea Company is almost bankrupt and Parliament gives it a near-monopoly to sell tea in the colonies, which undersells or bypasses American merchants altogether. This obvious favoritism astonishes – and infuriates- the colonies.
December 1773
• The Boston Tea Party British law states that tea must be off-loaded from ships and the tax on the tea paid by a certain date. If the date passes, troops unload it – triggering a tax bill.
• Colonists decide to destroy the tea dumping it overboard into the harbor. Hundreds of local citizens stand on the docks cheering them on.
March 1774
• Parliament is furious about the dumped tea and passes the “Intolerable Acts”
• England closes Boston Harbor
• Many more rights of self-government are taken away for colonists.
• May 1774 Martial law is enforced by General Thomas Gage.
General Thomas Gage
•
May 1774
General Thomas Gage is appointed Martial Law Governor of Massachusetts.
Civil laws, rights and liberties are cancelled and the military has direct rule.
It is getting serious now.
May- Sept. 1774
• Colonies propose the idea of a Congress to discuss united resistance against the “Intolerable Acts.”
• The First Continental Congress. This is considered an act of Treason by England.
• “Powder Alarms” British seized gunpowder and other military supplies being gathered by colonists.
• Williamsburg and Charleston.
Feb. 1775
• The New England Restraining Act
The New England colonies are now required to trade with England only, banning trade with other countries.
Fishing in North Atlantic is banned as well.
April 19, 1775Lexington & Concord
• General Gage again attempts to send soldiers to seize colonial military supplies.
• Gage gives orders to have Samuel Adams and John Hancock arrested.
• Paul Revere, William Dawes, and many others ride off to warn the local population.
• The “Shot Heard Around the World” is fired on Lexington Green.
• At Concord, several hundred American and British troops are killed and wounded as the Crown’s soldiers retreat in disorder back to Boston.
• The “Unthinkable” has to be reported to the King
The Colonists Troops
• Eventually, there will be as many as 16,000 citizen soldiers from several colonies gathered together.
May 10, 1775
• The Second Continental Congress meets.
June 15, 1775
• Congress creates the “Continental Army” from citizen soldiers around Boston and names George Washington as its commander.
• John Adams suggests George Washington because he was a Virginian. It was important for Southern states to be unified in this fight.
• John Hancock thought he was to be appointed commander of the Continental Army.
June 17, 1775
• The Battle of Bunker Hill (which was actually fought on Breeds’s Hill).
• Concerned that more British soldiers were landing in Boston, colonial soldiers take action and build a redoubt (small fort) across the bay. The British attack it almost immediately. Although Americans are eventually driven back, the British suffer enormous losses, including many valuable combat officers.
July 8, 1775
• The “ Olive Branch Petition” is sent to England by Congress. This is a final attempt to “patch things up” with England. King George III ignores it and declares the Americans to be in rebellion.
• The King’s word will not reach the colonies until January 1776.
Summer 1775
• Continental Congress appoints representatives to create peace treaties with neighboring Indian tribes.
September – November 1775
• Major General Benedict Arnold leads 700 colonial soldiers up the Kennebec River (which is today the state of Maine) and attacks British forces in Quebec, Canada.
• He is joined by Richard Montgomery, who guided soldiers up through Lake Champlain.
• Arnold hopes the attack will inspire local citizenry in Canada to rise up against the British, thereby drawing British forces away from America.
• The gamble does not work and the Americans are decisively defeated.
October 18, 1775
• English ships attack Falmouth, Maine (Portland waterfront) and burn it to the ground.
• Maine was still part of Massachusetts at this time.
January 10, 1776
• Common Sense is published just as news arrives that King George III had declared the colonies to be in rebellion.
• This means thousands of additional British Regular troops will arrive at the end of winter to “put down” the rebels.
• As the weeks pass, Common Sense becomes the largest selling pamphlet in American History.
• It is still 176 days until the
Declaration of Independence !
Paul Revere
• Revere's Early Life
• Born in Boston's North End in December, 1734, Paul Revere was the son of Apollos Rivoire, a French Huguenot (Protestant) immigrant, and Deborah Hichborn, daughter of a local artisan family. Rivoire, who changed his name to Paul Revere some time after immigrating, was a goldsmith and eventually the head of a large household. Paul Revere was the second of at least 9, possibly as many as 12 children and the eldest surviving son.
• Paul was educated at the North Writing
School and learned the art of gold and silversmithing from his father. When Paul was nineteen (and nearly finished with his apprenticeship) his father died, leaving Paul as the family's main source of income. Two years later, in 1756, Revere volunteered to fight the French at Lake George, New York, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the colonial artillery.
• In August, 1757, Revere married Sarah Orne. Together, they had eight children. Soon after Sarah's death in 1773, Revere married Rachel Walker with whom he had eight children.
• Political Activities / Revolutionary War
• Revere's political involvement arose through his connections with members of local organizations and his business patrons.
• As a member of the Masonic Lodge of St. Andrew, he was friendly with activists like James Otis and Dr. Joseph Warren.
• In the year before the Revolution, Revere gathered intelligence information by "watching the Movements of British Soldiers," as he wrote in an account of his ride.
*****
Express Rider
• He was a courier for the Boston Committee of Correspondence and the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, riding express to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
• He also spread the word of the Boston Tea Party to New York and Philadelphia.
• *****
•
• At 10 pm on the night of April 18, 1775,
Revere received instructions from Dr. Joseph Warren to ride to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the British approach and they were to be arrested.
The Old North Church
• A signal was arranged that if the British were leaving Boston, one light would shine in the tower if the British troops were leaving by land.
• Two lights meant that they were leaving by sea.
• How many lights were in the North Church tower ?
• Two lights were showing to indicate the British Troops were crossing Boston Harbor as they left Boston.
• Ahead of the British Troops, Revere was
rowed across the Charles River to Charlestown by two associates.
Paul Revere borrowed a horse from his friend, Deacon John Larkin of the Old North Church.
Charles River, Boston
• Paul Revere being rowed across the Charles
River • "I left Dr. Warrens, called upon a friend, and
desired him to make the Signals. I then went Home, took my Boots and Surtout, and went to the North part of the Town, Where I had kept a Boat; two friends rowed me across Charles River . . . They landed me on Charlestown side."
Letter Paul Revere to Jeremy Belknap, 1798
• Revere's two friends who rowed him to Charlestown were Joshua Bentley, a boat builder and Thomas Richardson, a shipwright. They would have been perfect for the job: local men who were expert rowers and familiar enough with the shoreline and harbor to attempt this mission in the dark of the night.
• While in Charlestown, he verified that the
local "Sons of Liberty" committee had seen his pre-arranged signals. (Two lanterns had been hung briefly in the bell-tower of Christ Church in Boston, indicating that troops would row "by sea" across the Charles River to Cambridge, rather than marching "by land" out Boston Neck.
• Revere had arranged for these signals the previous weekend, as he was afraid that he might be prevented from leaving Boston). ******
Revere’s Crossing
• On the way to Lexington, Revere
"alarmed" the country-side, stopping at each house, and arrived in Lexington about midnight.
• As he approached the house where Adams and Hancock were staying, a sentry asked that he not make so much noise.
• "Noise!" cried Revere, "You'll have noise enough before long. The regulars are coming out!"
• After delivering his message, Revere was joined
by a second rider, William Dawes, who had been sent on the same errand by a different route.
• Deciding on their own to continue on to Concord, Massachusetts, where weapons and supplies were hidden, Revere and Dawes were joined by a third rider, Dr. Samuel Prescott.
• Soon after, all three were arrested by a British patrol. Prescott escaped almost immediately, and Dawes soon after. Revere was held for some time and then released.
• Left without a horse, Revere returned to Lexington in time to witness part of the battle on the Lexington Green.
Revere’s Military Service
• The war erupted and Revere went on to serve as Lieutenant Colonel in the Massachusetts State Train of Artillery and commander of Castle Island in Boston Harbor.
• Revere and his troops saw little action at this post, but they did participate in minor expeditions to Newport, Rhode Island and Worcester, Mass.
• Revere's rather undistinguished military career ended with the failed Penobscot expedition.
• Pretty amazing stuff for a Silversmith !
• Let’s look at the portrait of Paul Revere.
• With all the events that made Paul Revere famous, let’s consider several things about this portrait.
John Singleton Copley [1738 – 1815]
Portrait of Paul Revere c.1768
Who did Copley paint ?
• Most of the colonial citizens Copley depicted were clergymen, merchants and their wives – they were considered the aristocracy of early America. ******
John Singleton CopleySelf-portrait, 1769
• In the American colonies, portraiture was
considered more of a practical trade than a fine art, and a portrait’s success was largely measured by its likeness to the person portrayed.
• Copley was extraordinarily talented for recording the physical characteristics of his subjects.
• Copley became the first American artist to achieve material success in his own country. ********
• John Singleton Copley is considered to be the foremost artist of colonial America. He is also one of its most prolific.
*******
Henry Pelham (A boy with a Squirrel) c.1765
• Copley had emigrated to London by the
time that Revere made his legendary midnight ride to alert the patriots that the British were coming.
• He had painted this portrait some years earlier, when Revere was known as a silversmith with a flourishing Boston trade but not yet as an American hero. ******
• Even though Revere had been active,
even then, in revolutionary politics, Copley prudently kept the portrait free from any hint of controversy.
• In retrospect, we can see that the portrait captures the qualities that allowed Revere to play an instrumental role in colonial history: Physical strength, moral certainty, intelligence, and unequivocal dedication to a cause.
• Reveals Personality. ******
• Paul Revere is the picture of an artesian
who, like Copley himself, took pride in the work of his hands.
• This portrait captures a critical moment in the silversmith’s work: he appears poised to engrave the gleaming surface of a teapot (presumably one he fashioned himself) using tools that rest on the table before him.
• Would a working craftsman have worn such a spotless linen shirt or woolen waistcoat (even if left casually unfastened) with buttons made of gold?
• The portrait reveals Social Position.
*********
• Copley’s portraits endure as works of art because they transcend pure documentation to reveal clues to the sitter’s personality, profession and social position. ********
• Could that highly polished, unscratched table possibly be a workbench?
• Apart from the engraving tools, the setting is free from a craftsman’s clutter or any other indication of an active workshop, which tells us that these are props to signify Revere’s profession.
–Why do you think Paul Revere is
dressed as he is?
• What is Revere holding?
• Find the three engraving tools on the table.
• Why do you think Copley included these tools and the teapot in this portrait?
• How has Copley drawn our attention to Revere’s face?
• He placed Revere against a plain, dark
background to contrast with his light face and shirt.
• The hand under his chin leads to the face.
• What part of the face did Copley make the most important?
• He made the eye on the left – Revere’s right eye – the most important.
• How did he do this?
• He accomplished this by slightly turning Revere to the viewer and shining a light on that part of Revere’s face. *****
• Why did Copley emphasize the eye?
• Perhaps he emphasized the eye to get the
viewers’ attention and draw them into the painting.
• Perhaps to remind the viewers that the eye is an important part of the artist’s skill and a sign of talent.
• How about “having an eye for” something.
Right or Left handed ?
• We know that some artists (such as Leonardo da Vinci) were left-handed.
• Can you determine if Paul Revere worked with his right or left hand according to clues in the painting.
Think about it ….
• If he is left-handed, why are the engraving tools at his right hand?
• If he is right-handed, why does he hold the pot in the left hand?
• He is not working ( the engraving tools at the right hand)
• He rests the pot on the leather pad in order to engrave on it.
Consider this ……
• By placing Revere’s hand under his chin, what does Copley suggest about Revere’s personality?
• This pose usually indicates a thoughtful person.
• What might the combination of these three things tell us about Paul Revere as an artist ?
• The pot he made and prominently holds
• The thoughtful gesture of the hand on chin• The emphasis on his eye
• Revere’s work is a combination of:
• Handiwork
• Thought
• Artistic vision
• Paul Revere was a craftsman in a busy studio.
• How has Copley idealized the setting for his portrait? ********
• If it was truly an artist’s workbench, it would probably be littered with tools and bits of metal.
• Is his shirt too clean? Have you ever polished silver? What do your hands look like?
The Portrait’s Composition
• The fine mahogany table that distances Revere from the viewer and gives the workman in shirtsleeves an air of authority also serves an important compositional purpose.
•
•
Paul Revere’s House
•
•
Older Paul Revere
•
Paul Revere Bowl
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•
•
QuizQuestion 1
• What did Paul Revere do as a patriot to gather intelligence information a year before the Revolutionary War broke out?
Question 2
• Paul Revere was a courier for what 2 groups as he rode express to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia ?
Question 3
• What important news from Boston did Paul Revere relay to New York and Philadelphia?
Question 4
• On April 18, 1775, who was Paul Revere sent to warn that the British were coming to arrest them?
Question 5
• What was the signal to indicate how the British Troops were leaving Boston on April 18, 1775 ?
Question 6
• Did John Singleton Copley paint Paul Revere before or after his now Famous Ride ?
Question 7
• Describe at least 2 traits that John Singleton Copley is best remembered.
Question 8
• What do Copley’s portraits document of the sitter ?
(name at least 3)
Question 9
• What is the focal point of this portrait?
• How has Copley created this?
Question 10
• Paul Revere was a craftsman in a busy studio.
• How has Copley idealized the setting for his portrait?
Next Week …..
Read Chapter One of Common Sense
We are going to learn about Silversmithing.
We are going to have a tea party at the beginning of class. So, if your would like to bring something share with the class (Food), it would be appreciated. It is a lovely way to start the day.
I will provide the Tea !!