Virtue and virtual reality in John Trumbull's pantheon
pp. 287-298
in: Babette Babich (ed), Hermeneutic philosophy of science, van Gogh's eyes, and God, Berlin, Springer, 2002Abstract
The four paintings by John Trumbull (1756–1843) that hang in the great Capitol Rotunda — The Declaration of Independence, The Surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga, The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, The Resignation of General Washington (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4) — depict the four most decisive moments in the American War of Independence and represent the artist's solution to his moral conflict arising from, on the one hand, the claims of virtue, directing his energies to a serious pursuit for the public good, and on the other, the need to earn his living by making portraits, which he considered frivolous, simply satisfying his selfish pride.1