George Washington
Artist
Unknown
Date19th century
MediumReverse painting on glass
Credit LineGift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch
Object number80.264.1
On View
Not on viewLabel TextGerman, Black Forest Area George Washington, 19th century Reverse painting on glass Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch 80.264.1 This reverse painting on glass derives from a 1798 print by the American engraver David Edwin (1776-1841) showing Washington in uniform with a military encampment seen through the open window. Edwin in turn had based the head on Gilbert Stuart's "Athenaeum" portrait. The production of reverse painted glasses after the Edwin print for the American market was a cottage industry in the Black Forest (examples are preserved at the White House and in the Corning Museum of Glass). The anonymous painter copied the outlines of the print onto the underside of the glass pane then laid on the highlights and finally the ground colors - the resulting image appearing in reverse when viewed through the surface of the glass. The painter, of course, simplified the image by eliminating many details including the encampment. Reverse painted images of Washington were also produced in China for the American market - some of them on a much grander scale. One of the best known Chinese reverse paintings on glass is a grandiose composition (also based on a print) that shows Washington ascending into heaven borne by angels.Exhibition History"First in the Hearts of His Countrymen: America Remembers George Washington 1732-1799," Chrysler Museum of Art, Nov. 23, 1999 - Summer 2001. Published ReferencesSpencer Museum of Art, Univ. of Kansas Catalog, REVERSE PAINTING ON GLASS, Part III, 1978, pg. 104, believe listed as no. 69, The Mildred Lee Ward Collection.
