Those Who Start Revolutions

I shall begin by describing the paintings individually.
George Washington: very regal background, lush red curtain, sword in one hand, standing upright, stern expression, one hand gesturing to unknown, throne like chair in background, fully dressed in uniform
Marat: sitting down in bathtub? bed?, holding a quill in one hand, a document in the other; bleeding; eyes closed, looking down, seems to be naked
Toussaint: standing upright, fully dressed in uniform, holding sword in one hand and a document in the other, wearing hat with feather on it, soldier in the background, stern expression
Bolivar: standing upright, stern expression, holding a rod or sword or something in one hand, the other hand is on his heart, dressed in uniform, quills in background

All of these paintings have the men holding something in at least one hand. Washington holds a sword, Marat: a quill and a document, Toussaint: a sword and document, Bolivar: a sword/rod. I think that they are portrayed in this way because it gives them a purpose- makes them look like they are going to achieve something. Another similarity is that Washington, Toussaint, and Bolivar are all standing upright, fully clothed in an elegant uniform. I think that this is done to show that they are men of rank, or power. Lastly, all four men have stern facial expressions. This serious nature of their persona characterize them as men who are ready to lead a revolution, as men who are capable of it. Rather than a smiling or silly expression, a more serious one leads one to believe that they can accomplish what is put before them, that they are not weak.

As previously mentioned, the artists portray these men in this way because it makes them appear to be competent and able in leading people to revolt. The artists chose certain facial expressions and body language to show that these four men were serious in what they were doing, that they knew what they were doing. For the future generation, these paintings give somewhat of a distorted view on these four men just because the artist purposely choose to display them in a specific way to get their point across. The paintings convince the future generations that these men were regal, brave, and confident. They convince them that these men changed lives and that they knew how to do it as well.

Revolutions need heroic figures because it is simply human nature to follow someone who takes charge. There are people who are "leaders" and those who are "followers". Those who are "followers" are naturally inclined to follow the "leaders" and without the "leaders", the "followers" feel as if they can accomplish nothing. The most heroic thing about heroic figures is their aura and their confidence-how they portray themselves to others. Most likely, no one is willing to follow someone who is weak and doubts themselves. People like to follow people who are confident and act like they know what they are doing. It's also the group/mob mentality of people but it's also the human nature of some to take charge and seize the day.