George Washington Crossing the Delaware | Explore & Learn

George Washington Crossing the Delaware

Leutze's figures look as if they exist in three dimensions, even though they are really as flat as the canvas. One way he gives his figures three-dimensional form is to reflect light off their bodies and paint shadows cast by them.

Here are two figures painted in both light and in shadow.

Our eyes know that when an object both reflects light and has a shadow it must also have volume. Just as sculptors carve stone to create volume, painters "model" their figures in light and shadow to give them a three-dimensional form. Without this effect, the figures would seem flat and two dimensional.

Look at the images below. Which one has forms defined by light and shadow ?

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Photograph Credits