The self portraits of our revolutionary heroes, although all unique, share the same characteristics of being heroic images. Washington's pose is saying "follow me" while he holds a sheathed sword. This means he is ready to fight, but only if he has to. The portrait of Marat is much more dramatic. It depicts him as being badly injured, but still holding a pen and a document in his hand, meaning he is dedicated to his revolution to the death. The portrait of Toussaint is more similar to Washington's, showing him with a sword in one hand and a document in the other. He is in the foreground of a large scale picture, meant to give him the illusion of being very large and powerful. Bolivar's portrait, although more snobby looking, is very similar to Washington and Toussaint's portraits. It shows him holding a sword and dressed royally with a document by his side.
Although these portraits are about as conceited as it gets, (imagine if Obama had a portrait like these) they are necessary. Revolutions need heroic figures to look up to. After all, a revolution is happening because the people are upset with the leaders they have now. If the new leaders are no better, then there is no point for a revolution. This is why the revolutionary leaders have to appear to be strong and intelligent and dedicated. Revolutions are also very risky things. If the revolting party fails, they will most likely be worse off than they were before. To be fully inspired to take part in the risk of a revolution, the common people need to be able to look up to a leader such as George Washington and say, "I know the British are better armed, far outnumber us, and the winter is cold, but with my boy Washington leading us we can't lose!"
Revolutionary leaders are rare and even more rarely are successful. To reward those who take the risk, I believe they deserve portraits like these. Future generations who see these photos will see these men as heroes, and courageous, and probably as being dressed like freaks. It would be nice today if there was more art like this that left pictures to be open to interpretation.
