John Lewis Krimmel - Fourth of July in Centre Square [1812]

John Lewis Krimmel - Fourth of July in Centre Square [1812], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

A native of Württemberg, Germany, Krimmel (American, 1786 – 1821) arrived in Philadelphia with his brother in 1809 and almost immediately began recording local social events. His festive scenes mask an underlying renegade quality that allowed him to introduce a new form of painting that expressed a lively, disorganised, democratic impulse. In Fourth of July in Centre Square, various groups celebrate the holiday near the Pump House in Philadelphia yet keep to themselves. Quakers appear on one side, the affluent on the other, and there are clusters of the lower classes in between. Yet everyone is, after all, enjoying the same space and celebration, thus signalling that the time-honoured hierarchical system for social engagement was on the verge of collapse.

[Oil on canvas, 57.8 x 73.7 cm]