Benjamin West's Penn's Treaty With The Indians And John Trumbull's The Essay Sample

Early American art often was used to chronicle historic event such as in “Penn’s Treaty with the Indians” and “The Declaration of Independence”. Both show important scenes from American history and offers a visual interpretation of what these time periods must have been like. By comparing and contrasting these two paintings we can gain a better understanding of early American life.
In Benjamin West’s painting “Penn’s Treaty with the Indians”, West depicts the treaty between the Quakers and the Indian tribes of colonial America. The painting is of neo-classism style. The lighting and composition highlight the figure of Penn and the action of signing the treaty. Symbolism is used through the women and children in the painting. They represent unity between both men and women of different cultures and the children represent a new generation that will benefit from the treaty being signed in the painting.
In John Trumbull’s painting “The Declaration of Independence”, the painting is also of neo classical style. The scene show’s America’s forefathers during the important historical event of signing the Declaration of Independence. In contrast to the other work, “The Declaration of Independence” is much lighter, the focal point in the painting are actually darker, and the opposite of Benjamin West’s painting. The focal point figures are seated while those around them are standing drawing the eye to the document they are working on. The focal point is slightly off center, instead of centered like West’s painting.
Overall, these painting both use light and dark to highlight focal points, they also depict historical events and highlight the signing of important documents. While similar they each chronicle their own unique style.