Angel on the Battlefield
Artist
Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze
(American, 1816 - 1868)
CultureAmerican
Date1864
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions31 1/8 × 23 5/8 in. (79.1 × 60 cm)
Overall, Frame: 40 5/8 × 32 7/8 × 4 1/8 in. (103.2 × 83.5 × 10.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 40 5/8 × 32 7/8 × 4 1/8 in. (103.2 × 83.5 × 10.5 cm)
SignedLower left- "E. Leutze, 1864"
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by Joan and Macon Brock, the Christiane and James Valone Charitable Fund, Shirley and Dick Roberts, David and Susan Goode, Mr. Joseph T. Waldo and Ms. Ashby Vail, Dr. and Mrs. T. W. Hubbard, Micky and David Jester, Kay and Al Abiouness, Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel A. Arias, Angelica and Henry Light, Ed and Linda Lilly, Leah and Richard Waitzer, Nancy and Malcolm Branch, Kathy and Bob Carter, Mr. Leslie H. Freidman and Mrs. Janet H. Hamlin, Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus W. Grandy V, and Tom and Carol Anne Kent.
Object number2012.14
Not on view
DescriptionOil on canvas painting depicting an angel hovering over a battlefield strewn with dead and dying soldiers. Label TextEmanuel Gottlieb Leutze American, 1816–1868 Angel on the Battlefield, 1864 Oil on canvas Over 600,000 Americans lost their lives in the Civil War. Surrounded by newspaper reports and gruesome photographs, Emanuel Leutze painted Angel on the Battlefield to comfort the broken and grieving nation. This angel inscribes the names of fallen soldiers in the Book of Life, honoring their courage and sacrifice. The dead wear a variety of uniforms, acknowledging that war’s tragic consequences affected both North and South, as well as the victims of earlier conflicts. Museum purchase with funds provided by Joan and Macon Brock, the Christiane and James Valone Charitable Fund, Shirley and Dick Roberts, David and Susan Goode, Mr. Joseph T. Waldo and Ms. Ashby Vail, Dr. and Mrs. T. W. Hubbard, Micky and David Jester, Kay and Al Abiouness, Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel A. Arias, Angelica and Henry Light, Ed and Linda Lilly, Leah and Richard Waitzer, Nancy and Malcolm Branch, Kathy and Bob Carter, Mr. Leslie H. Freidman and Mrs. Janet H. Hamlin, Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus W. Grandy V, and Tom and Carol Anne Kent 2012.14 ProvenanceSpanierman Gallery, New York, NYExhibition History"Mowbray Arch Society 2012," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, November 28 - December 5, 2012. "Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art," Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH, June 12 - September 5, 2021; Speed Museum of Art, October 7, 2021 - January 2, 2022; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, February 19 - May 15, 2022. “Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic and Mediums," Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, September 14, 2024 - February 5, 2025; Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL, March 15 - July 13, 2025. Published ReferencesRobert Cozzolino, ed., _Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art_, exh. cat., Minneapolis Museum of Art in association with University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2021, 96, plate 5.
