Leaders in Paintings...what else is new?

One of the main things in these portraits that we observed in class and that I also noticed at home was the presence of scholarly items, such as books, quills, or constitutions. This emphasizes how they were all thought of as educated and intelligent by the people they led and the artists that portrayed them. Also, along with high thoughts of their education, the artists also portrayed the leader's strength and warlike skills using swords in almost all of the paintings with the exception of one. The artists use qualities such as intelligence and education as well as distinct facial expressions to portray these people a certain way. An example of this is George Washington's content and calm nature or Murat's arrogant smile that show their pride of their winnings. By making these leaders look so proud and triumphant the artists have created a picture of what a good leader should look like, making all leaders from then on try to live up their standards. For example, George Washington's look carried on in almost all of his successors. The majority were white, educated, middle aged men. I think that revolutions such as the ones led by these leaders need a strong heroic figure because they take the "rebellion" factor out of the revolution and insert a liberating and justified factor into it. Because these leaders are portrayed as such honorable and heroic figures, I believe the artists are representing the opinions of the people throughout the revolutions that these leaders were apart of.