LEUTZE, Emanuel Gottlieb (1816-1868), [Map of the World]

Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (1816-1868)
[Map of the World]
Oil on canvas
Signed in monogram and dated lower left: "EGL 1865/66"
32 1/2" x 40 1/2" canvas, 45" x 53" framed

Provenance: The collection of the United States Department of State. Private Collection, New York.

As a strong supporter of Europe's Revolutions of 1848 and as one of the greatest proponents of American democracy, the celebrated history painter, Emanuel Leutze, created powerful visual landmarks illustrating the distinctiveness and independence of the United States. His most famous painting is of course "Washington Crossing the Delaware" in the Metropolitan Museum, but he also celebrated the expansion of the nation through the west. One notable example appears in mural form in the United States Capitol's "Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way."

Painted in the year at the end of the American Civil War, "A Map of the World" is a monument to America's concept of Manifest Destiny and even more, an acknowledgement that the United States was leaving its divisions behind and taking an important role internationally.

In Building the Continental Empire (Chicago, 1996, p.61), the historian William Earl Weeks identifies the main themes behind the concept of Manifest Destiny. Nineteenth-century advocates, including Leutze, sought to highlight the virtue of the American people and their institutions and spread these institutions, thereby redeeming and remaking the world in the image of the United States.

Emanuel Leutze's oil painting is a visual testament to the beliefs governing these concepts. He cleverly combines Old World mapmaking representation with the concepts of New World destiny. In the cartouche at the lower edge of the painting can be seen personifications of Old World explorers and their contact with native inhabitants of the New World. A galleon, possibly representative of Columbus' arrival in the New World, is also pictured.

At the lower left corner of the painting, a herald, boldly wearing the Hapsburg imperial eagle upon his tunic and perhaps representative of the German-born Leutze himself, proclaims America's return to the world stage after the end of the Civil War. The idea is cemented by a nymph holding a phoenix rising out of the flames, placed to the left of the cartographic representation of the United States. The nymph stands upon a peacock, a traditional emblem of resurrection and rebirth. In a further attempt to forward the idea, the flanking Corinthian columns are wrapped in banners proclaiming in Latin 'plus ultra' [further beyond]. This is the national motto of Hapsburg Spain, as introduced by Charles V, King of Aragon and Castile and Holy Roman Emperor (1500-1558). Further reference is made to the Kingdom of Aragon and Castile by the heraldic lion rampant from the royal coat of arms in the medallion at top center.

Leutze ties in ancient mythology to his dedication to the idea of Manifest Destiny with the inclusion of the Roman sun-god Apollo. Riding in his chariot drawn by four glorious white horses above the painted map, Apollo leads the charge west. In addition to his associations with the sun, music, and prophecy, he is also associated with dominion over colonies, and was the giver of laws. He encouraged the founding of new towns and the establishment of civil constitutions and his oracles were often consulted before setting laws in a city.