While the Enemy Rests

This is Mort Künstler limited edition print - While the Enemy Rests. Paris Mountain, Virginia December 1, 1864.

Paper Prints
Reproduction technique: Fine offset lithography on neutral pH archival quality paper using the finest fade-resistant inks.
Each print is numbered and signed by the artist and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.

Image Size: 18” x 29-1/2” • Overall Size: 22-1/2” x 33-1/2”

Signed Artist’s Proof • Edition Size: 150

Mort Künstler’s Comments
I’ve always been amazed at how many different ways the ideas for my paintings come about. While the Enemy Rests is no exception. The concept began with a letter from David Falkenstein, a Civil War enthusiast in Strasburg, Virginia, suggesting a painting called Mosby’s Confederacy.

David’s idea was of a pre-dawn snow scene with a long vista centering around Colonel John S. Mosby in Northern Virginia. I liked the idea but wanted it to be different from my many night snow scenes. I decided a sunset could include both night light and the dramatic light streak at the horizon after the sun has actually set. While searching for a suitable valley that would have been occupied by Federal troops during the winter, historian Jeffry Wert, author of Mosby’s Rangers, suggested Paris Mountain. December 1, 1864 was the perfect day. Placing the time at sunset gave me dramatic lighting, as well as enabling me to show the campfires glowing. It also gave me the opportunity to show two of the three lakes in the valley dramatically reflecting the orange glow of the sun. This view, looking south, is recognizable from Virginia’s Route 50.

The poses of the men and horses are very important in a painting of this sort. The binoculars and telescope show the men scouting an enemy army, not riding into their own encampment. All horses are still except Mosby’s. The movement of his horse, along with the break in the horizon by his black feathered hat, moves the viewer’s eye toward Mosby as the center of interest.

I think the color scheme of this painting, blue-gray and violet-gray, is appropriate for a portrayal of the “Gray Ghost of the Confederacy.”