Baltimore artist's Jesus crosses the water, but its the Delaware

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Scott Brooks's "Jesus Crossing the Delaware" (unfinished work)

In 1871, George Caleb Bingham painted "Washington Crossing the Delaware." It commemorates General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River with the Continental Army on the night of December 25–26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. Historians report that this first move and surprise attack against the German mercenary forces at Trenton, New Jersey on the morning of December 26, changed the perceptions of American forces. Currently, Baltimore artist Scott Brooks is painting "Jesus Crossing the Delaware." In contrast to Bringham's painting, Brooks figured form an inverted pyramid with Jesus as the lower point between two watchful female figures. It's a work in progress, and we'll report on it more when it's finished. [Instagram]

This is an oil on canvas painting. Washington stands at the apex of a pyramid of figures, on horseback. Bingham portrays Washington and his crew riding on a broad, flat-bottomed raftboat, through icy waters; the boat seems to proceed directly toward the viewer.