This painting of Pochahontas' baptism, painted long after its actual occurrence seems to say a lot about the effect of such an event as well as the artist's thoughts. I think I remember seeing this in the Capitol Rotunda four years ago, but I definitely didn't look at it as closely as I do now that I know more about her than just the person Disney created. One of the things I notice right away is the difference of shadows and light in the painting. Pocahontas and the priest are in the most light, almost like God's shining down on this righteous act, almost rite of passage of the Church. The light seems to represent the good and God's approval of what Pocahontas is choosing to do. The few Native Americans that are in the painting are more in the dark, and not nearly as "involved or active" in what is taking place like the British are. Two of the Native Americans are not even watching, but looking away, as if this is not something they approve of. They are not excited to see this happening as the British are. The white that Pochahontas and the priest are wearing also seems to represent purity and holiness compared to the darker clothing of everyone else.
I'm curious why this was chosen to be one of the paintings on the Capitol Rotunda. I suppose it makes sense because it was part of the whole process of Pocahontas and John Rolfe's "royal" wedding, which gave England the upper hand when it came to the control of the New World. I'm not sure that putting a moment that was vital to Pocahontas' abandoning of her own culture and heritage is something that we want to proudly display on our nation's capitol ceiling. However, I definitely wasn't there and am not a very good judge of why this has been chosen for the Rotunda. I'll have to look into that further.
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