Compare And Contrast The Engraving Of The Boston Massacre

In two famous engravings of the Boston Massacre, Engraving of the Boston Massacre by Paul Revere and The Fruits of Arbitrary Power by Henry Pelham, viewers are given different views of the same event through the use of various artistic techniques. If one looks closer at these two engravings, it becomes apparent that there are differences between how two groups, American Colonists and British Troops, are presented as good, evil, or morally ambiguous. Through the use of various artistic techniques such as color, shading, facial expressions, and text, Revere and Pelham were able to achieve two different expressions and opinions of the same massacre. While Pelham’s engraving appears more neutral in tone, Revere’s engraving includes much more emotional appeal and

To illustrate, in Pelham’s The Fruits of Arbitrary Power, an American Colonist holding a wounded colonist’s legs appears emotionless, even content, whereas the same leg holding colonist in Revere’s engraving looks as if he has an perplexed frown on his face. Another example is that one of the British Soldiers in Revere’s engraving who is firing bullets at the colonists appears to have an excited grin, thus making the British appear like inhumane murderers. Conversely, Pelham’s engraving casts a shadow on the faces of some of the British, while leaving the rest of the British soldiers with indifferent faces. In this way, Pelham has minimized the amount of emotion in his engraving, which keeps him antagonizing either the British or Americans or making them seem either good or bad. Similarly to his use of shading, Revere is able to create more pathos, or emotional appeal, with facial expressions that humanize the human subjects in his engraving in order to tug at the heartstrings of his