Examining the archetypal components of the hero's journey in the painting "Washington's Crossing the Delaware"

Myths and heroes are elements that are very attractive to the audience in art. The audience can take the hero's wishes, disabilities and even motivation for life. Myths are part of the identity of any country. Finding the components of a hero in art helps the artist on one hand and the audience on the other hand in creating and discovering it. Since the past, myth has been very important for humans. The construction of statues of gods, paintings of caves and actions of this kind were done with the purpose of creating myths. This matter gradually became a social function that formed its collective identity in every society. Artists also started creating myths in different artistic formats. By examining the works of artists, you can discover the spirit of that era. Over time, myths became national or ethnic heroes that the people of every society felt proud by seeing them or hearing their stories. Therefore, the problem of knowing the myth and then the hero in works of art can lead to knowing the identity of a society. The components of the hero in the art of painting have not been scientifically explained, so this research aims to recognize the hero and the myth in the painting by taking the help of the theoretical foundations of other arts such as story writing, cinema, etc. and by examining the proposition found in the painting "Washington's Crossing Delaware", find out what characteristics the hero and legend have in the art of painting. For this reason, the assumption of the research is based on the fact that the characteristics of heroes and legends are probably the same in all arts. To investigate this assumption, the question that is raised is, what are the components of the hero's journey archetype in the painting? For this purpose and based on the purpose of the research, the research method is applied. The research has been done by referring to library sources and using the descriptive-analytical method. One of the types of descriptive research is content analysis descriptive research. This research is done in order to objectively and qualitatively describe the content of concepts, texts, phenomena and spaces in a systematic way. In fact, the scope of this type of research consists of written, oral, visual and spatial texts about a specific topic, such as books, newspapers, magazines, tapes and films, lectures, exam papers and the like. Gives. Also, in content analysis, the desired elements and materials are collected and classified and analyzed. Content analysis methods are used in fields such as the study of artistic cultural productions such as film, music, theater and painting and their use. In this method, there is a special emphasis on analyzing the characteristics of hidden messages in the texts, and today the scope of this method has expanded. At the end of the research and by finding the components of hero and myth in the fields of literature, cinema, as well as mythology and their analysis in Emmanuel Lutz's painting, we find out that this work, although it may be compared to known works, is not considered one of the masterpieces of art history; But it contains most of the components of a hero and even a legend, and this makes it valuable to the American people and creates a sense of national pride. The tight composition especially in the boat, the fortitude of General Washington, the effort to preserve the flag and the bright light spread along the general's gaze and the boat's path, when juxtaposed with its historical background - the true story of General George Washington's division. creates a mythical hero for the people of the United States. This work awakens the sense of patriotism, courage and unity in the audience, which are important statements in the United States. Also, the way of selecting the people present in the boat and the purpose of this expedition makes a collective hero for the audience. It can be said that this heroism, which has become an American myth, provides justification and motivation for the campaigns of American statesmen. A hero in any art form has the same characteristics. The difference between the hero of painting and other fields of art is not in the features, but in how it is presented. Literature can create the moral characteristics of a hero in the mind of the audience, cinema can objectify the hero. But in the painting canvas, the same features should be depicted in a moment and mentally. How General Washington stands and his focus on the goal, his opponents and enemies, which are the ice and atmospheric conditions, on the other hand, the effort of his companions to reach that goal, creates nothing but the image of a hero and the creation of a myth in the mind of the audience. slow The union of the United States of America, which was realized after the hard wars, is one of the national issues of this country, and one of the essentials of this union is to unite the different races and thoughts that entered that country over the years. This union was built on General Washington's boat. This issue has caused this work to be noticed by some presidents of the United States.