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Washington's Tomb

Washington's Tomb
Washington's Tomb
Washington's Tomb
Status
On view
Label Text

In this image, there is a poetical contrast between the permanence of the tomb and monuments—constructed of brick, iron, and marble—and the surrounding trees in their natural cycle of growth and decay. The fallen tree in the center foreground may be a memento mori, a picturesque device to encourage reflection on mortality and the inevitable passage of time. Richardt’s tomb scene thus bears witness to the oppositional pull between transience and permanence and, ultimately, the importance of actively remembering Washington’s life and legacy before those lessons, too, are gone. As tensions flared between the northern and southern states during the antebellum era, George Washington’s tomb became a powerful symbol of Americans’ shared past. Mount Vernon, and specifically Washington’s grave, were essential sites for well-travelled American and foreign tourists intent on learning more about Washington’s life and heroic deeds during the Revolution and early republic. Danish landscape artist Ferdinand Richardt was thus one of many artists who visited the first president’s home in the summer of 1858 to document the family tomb. At that time, Richardt was gathering materials to include in an illustrated travel journal celebrating the wonders of the United States and knew his views of the tomb and mansion would raise awareness of the importance of preserving Mount Vernon as a national shrine.

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Date1858
Artist (Danish, 1819 - 1895)
Geography Made - United States
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall ( H x W x D Frame): 24 in. × 33 3/8 in. × 5 1/4 in. (60.96 cm × 84.77 cm × 13.34 cm) Overall (H x W Sight): 15 1/8 in. × 24 3/16 in. (38.42 cm × 61.44 cm)
Credit LinePurchased by the A. Alfred Taubman Acquisition Endowment Fund, 2017 Conservation courtesy of The Founders, Washington Committee Endowment Fund
Object numberM-5531
DescriptionOil on canvas landscape view of Washington’s new tomb at Mount Vernon, taken from the southwest on a bright, clear day. The red, brick walls of the tomb begin on the far left and continue to the center of the composition, where they give way to a view of Washington’s stone sarcophagus through a gated, arched opening. To the right of the tomb’s entrance stand two marble obelisks, enclosed with iron fences, memorializing Bushrod Washington (1762-1829) and John Augustine Washington II (1792-1832). Dense vegetation and trees encase the scene on the right and middle foreground (including a fallen, decaying tree in the foreground), while a blue sky and dappled clouds frame the top of the canvas. A strong, angled light illuminates Washington’s final resting place, while a sandy foot trail behind the obelisks and wooden plank path between the stone columns, similarly lead the eye to the entrance of the tomb.

Frame: Reproduction 3 ¾” wide American cushion fluted cove frame with 5/8” insert purchased from the House of Heydenryck, 2018.


SignedMount Vernon 14/7 58 F Richardt, lower left

The date, 14/7 58, is presumed to be 14 July 1858, the day he likely sketched this scene and not the date he completed the painting, because a series of Richardt’s Mount Vernon sketches in the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, are dated “15/7” and “16/7 58”.


Published ReferencesMatthew R. Costello. “’The Property of the Nation’: Democracy and the Memory of George Washington, 1799-1865,” Ph.D. Dissertation, Marquette University, 2016.

Paul D. Schweizer and Melinda Young Stuart. Ferdinand Richardt: Drawings of America, 1855-1859. Utica, NY: Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Museum of Art, 2007.

Melinda Young Stuart and Niels Peter Stilling. Danish Manor Houses and America: The Landscape Art of Ferdinand Richard (1819-1895). Copenhagen: Danish National Museum, 2003.

Melinda Young Frye [Stuart]. “Joachim Ferdinand Richardt (1819-1895): A Danish Artist in the American Landscape, 1855-1859.” MA Thesis, George Washington University, 1993.

Mount Vernon's object research is ongoing and information about this object is subject to change. For information on image use and reproductions, click here.
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