Emanuel Leutze painted Washington Crossing the Delaware, a famous 1851 depiction of George Washington’s Revolutionary War crossing.
Leutze was a German-American artist who created the painting after returning to Europe. He intended the dramatic scene to encourage liberal reformers during the Revolutions of 1848, using the American Revolution as an example of resistance and political change.
The image shows Washington and Continental Army soldiers crossing the Delaware River on the night of December 25–26, 1776. The crossing preceded the American victory at Trenton on December 26.
There were three versions of the painting. The first was damaged by fire and later destroyed in World War II. The best-known surviving version is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The painting is an artistic interpretation, not a literal photographic record of the crossing.