Matt Batta 4

Matt Batta - John Adams

         This was a portrait made by Gilbert Stuart of General Henry Knox in or around the year of 1805. Self Portraits were a huge trend back in the 19th century, and you can most likely find at least one painting of just about any American politician, president, or war general. It says in the plaque next to the painting that the medium that this piece of art was created with was Oil on a Panel. A cultural connection with this painting and the community at the time would definitely be the sudden craze of wanting a self portrait made and also the cannon symbolizes his most celebrated war time during the winter of 1775. I chose this particular piece of artwork because I was really interested in who the man in the picture was and I wanted to learn more about how self portraits were painted and what type of people at the time wanted them painted for them. I researched a little more on the picture and was able to learn things about the painter of the picture and how he was from Rhode Island and died about twenty years after this was painted which I found very interesting, being that the artist lived right around here.