July 2, 1863
July 2, 1863
Prompt
The 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry charging downhill at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, late afternoon. A thin line of Union soldiers in dark blue frock coats and kepis, bayonets fixed on long rifled muskets, running down a grassy slope toward the dry creek bed of Plum Run. A battered regimental flag held high near the center of the line, torn and smoke-stained. In the distance a larger mass of Confederate soldiers in grey and butternut moves up from the creek, half hidden in thick grey-white gunpowder smoke. Low golden sunlight from the right cuts through the smoke. Rolling Pennsylvania fields, a split-rail fence, scattered trees. Dramatic but not graphic, no blood or gore, focus on motion and courage. Late 1500s oil on canvas, Venetian Renaissance style, loose visible brush strokes, impasto highlights, yellowed amber varnish, faded muted colors, dense craquelure, flaked paint, dark grimy corners, visible canvas weave, low contrast, nothing crisp or glossy.
