Objectives:

Students will

• compare and contrast the representations of Paul Revere by John Singleton Copley and the early 20th century American artist Grant Wood to learn about romanticizing history.
• read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem about Paul Revere and compare it to historical research on the figure of Paul Revere.

Lesson times:

If you attend the About Face exhibit at the Memorial Art Gallery, this lesson consists of post-visit activities.

Previous Knowledge:
Students should have begun study of colonial America, with some basic background in pre-Revolutionary Boston and the role of Paul Revere in the early stage of the American Revolution.

Vocabulary:

heroize — to make a hero out of someone; to treat as a hero.
Patriot — a colonial who believed that America should not be ruled by England. portrait — a work of art that depicts a specific person.
romanticize — to treat or regard something in a fanciful way, without basis in fact.

Materials:

1. Image

Image #11

John Singleton Copley
American, 1737-1815
Paul Revere, 1768
Oil on canvas, 35 x 28 ½"

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Image #12

Grant Wood
American, 1891-1942
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, 1931 Oil on composition board, 30 x 40"

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Arthur H. Hearn Fund, 1950. (50.117)

2. The figure of Paul Revere. Romanticizing colonial American history worksheet (html or Word)
3. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "Paul Revere's Ride" (html or Word)
4. Internet access for follow-up research (optional)

Lesson:

1. For this lesson, the students can work on their own or in groups. Give each student a copy of The figure of Paul Revere. Romanticizing colonial American history worksheet.
2. Project the two paintings of Paul Revere, Slide #11 by John Singleton Copley, and Slide #12 by Grant Wood. The students are to compare the two paintings on the worksheet provided, looking at such features as activity/gesture, size, relationship of forms, colors, detail, and story/narrative.

   For example, the activities are very different in these two images. The gesture of Copley's portrait of Paul Revere is subtle, he holds the teapot in one hand, and his chin in the other. These are very gentle gestures. In the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Grant Wood, the figure of Paul Revere is racing down the road in the lower left hand corner. His movement is a focal point of the painting. The story/narrative is also very different in these two paintings. The Grant Wood painting is based directly upon the story of the midnight ride of Paul Revere and it appears to illustrate that story. The Copley painting is a portrait. Copley was probably more interested in accurately portraying the physical presence of Paul Revere than telling a story. Narrative was probably not the primary concern of Copley in painting this portrait.

3. Allow the students about 10-15 minutes to complete the worksheet. Afterwards, the students can share their opinions.

4. Ask the students to guess which painting was made by an artist who knew Paul Revere, and which one was painted by an artist who never even met Paul Revere. Have them explain their answers.

   The painting by John Singleton Copley appears to be an earnest attempt to capture the likeness of the individual man, Paul Revere. We know these two colonial artists knew each other because historical records show that John Singleton Copley went to Paul Revere to buy such things as jewelry and silver frames for his painted miniatures (Quinn, p. 248). On the other hand, the painting of Paul Revere by Grant Wood was painted more than a 100 years after the American Revolution. Grant Wood's painting does not focus upon anything that made Paul Revere an individual, instead, Wood has depicted the legend of Paul Revere. The bird's eye view allows viewers to look down upon the scene as the story unfolds before our eyes. The style of the painting was intentionally simplified in order to make a connection with the idealized simplicity of early American life and art. The inspiration for this painting by Grant Wood was his familiarity with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride" which, in itself, heavily romanticized the story of Paul Revere's midnight ride (Corn, p. 86). The storytelling quality of Wood's portrayal detaches us from Paul Revere the man, and we become viewers of a narrative based in the mythology of American history.

5. Does this knowledge change their understanding of the two images? What do you think John Singleton Copley is trying to say about Paul Revere? What do you think Grant Wood is trying to say about Paul Revere? Explain.

6. Explain to students the concept of romanticizing the past as this applies to these images of Paul Revere.

• Why do people romanticize American history?
• What other ways do people romanticize the past?

Follow-up:

Have students read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride" (html or Word). Or, for younger students choose a key excerpt of the poem for them to read. After reading the poem, students will conduct research on the figure of Paul Revere and then compare and contrast the fiction of the poem with the reality of Revere's ride to Concord.

• Is the poem historically accurate?
• How did this poem affect our conception of history and Paul Revere's role in American history?
• Which one should we believe? Why?
• Is Longfellow's poem a form of portraiture?
• Can a poem be a form of portraiture?

The Paul Revere House website is great for learning about Paul Revere. In addition to its own rich accounts of his life and midnight ride, this site also has a bibliography for further research.

Think about it:
How do the visual documents of Paul Revere compare to the written documents? What kind of messages do you get from each? Which do you think is more reliable, the portrait of John Singleton Copley, or a written biographical account of his life? What can you learn about Paul Revere by looking at his painted portrait that you cannot learn by reading his bibliography, and vice versa?

Evaluation:
Students will be assessed on their critical looking skills in comparing the two paintings of Paul Revere. Student's participation should be judged on their ability to apply their comparative skills as developed in the visual comparison to the comparison of the romanticized account of Paul Revere's midnight ride with the historical account of that event.

Summary: Students will compare two images of Paul Revere, one by a contemporary portrait artist, John Singleton Copley, and one by an early 20th century American artist, Grant Wood, in order to critique romanticized notions of our colonial American past. This concept of romanticizing our past will also be applied to the students analyzing representations of Paul Revere in written sources.

Sources:
Corn, Wanda M. Grant Wood: The Regionalist Vision. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1983.

Quinn, Karen E. "Paul Revere," in Rebora, Carrie, and Staiti, Paul, et. al. John Singleton in America. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995. pp. 247-249.