Emblems of the Civil War
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Twenty years after the Civil War, a rising wave of curiosity and nostalgia accompanied the gradual passing of a generation of veterans. Memorial still lifes—which recorded actual objects related to the war in artificial, ceremonial arrangements—revived the lessons of the conflict while suggesting its gradual recession into the past. Alexander Pope here arranged the military mementos of Major General William Tibbits (died 1880), of the Union army’s Second New York Cavalry. They include a Confederate bullet on a string and a key to Libby Prison, a site of Confederate atrocities.
Caption
Alexander Pope (American, 1849–1924). Emblems of the Civil War, 1888. Oil on canvas, 54 3/16 × 51 1/8 in. (137.6 × 129.8 cm) frame: 66 11/16 × 63 5/8 × 2 3/4 in. (169.4 × 161.6 × 7 cm) frame: 62 × 65 × 1 1/4 in. (157.5 × 165.1 × 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Governing Committee of The Brooklyn Museum, and Anonymous Donors, 66.5. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Emblems of the Civil War
Date
1888
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
54 3/16 × 51 1/8 in. (137.6 × 129.8 cm) frame: 66 11/16 × 63 5/8 × 2 3/4 in. (169.4 × 161.6 × 7 cm) frame: 62 × 65 × 1 1/4 in. (157.5 × 165.1 × 3.2 cm)
Signatures
Signed lower right: "ALEX--POPE--88 / --BOSTON--"
Inscriptions
Inscribed on calling card lower left: "Mr. Alexander Pope"
Credit Line
Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Governing Committee of The Brooklyn Museum, and Anonymous Donors
Accession Number
66.5
Frequent Art Questions
This looks so real.
Alexander Pope was known during his lifetime for his paintings of animals and game birds, but he is remembered today for his group of trompe-I'oeil "trophy" paintings."Trompe l'oeil" means "fool the eye." He painted these objects in an illusionistic manner -- they look very real, almost as though we could touch them. Look closely at some of the details and textures!He may have been thinking of the tradition of hanging memorabilia of the Civil War in one's home -- the weapons and possessions of family members who fought in the conflict.Tell me more about this.
What a detail! This collection of objects stands in as a portrait of their owner, a soldier for the Union, or the North, in the US Civil War.The key is labeled "Libby Prison," a Confederate prison that was in Richmond Virginia that was the site of wartime atrocities. This key was presented to Major General William B. Tibbits, whose family commissioned this painting, as a memento by Union General Daniel Sickles.Cool! Thanks!You're welcome!
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at