a large plowshare signals the role of a gentleman farmer he returns to. aligned with the historic circumstances of his life, the calm bearing suggests more transcendent meanings. washington called the work a good likeness. the mixture of the real and ideal establish the model which has been reproduced in many forms from the 18th century to the present. with regard to the model, probably one of the best-known examples would the the monumental painting of washington crossing the delaware. this familiarity obscures the radical nature of the statue when it was commissioned. when it was commissioned, there was no model for this. like the political structure, the statue, a result of collaboration between the parisian artist, thomas jefferson, who was serving as minister to france, members of the virginia general assembly, and washington himself, adapted to classical precedents to suit american cased and helped shape a national iconography. we should note the agent references are reiterated by the placement in a temple like setting. albeit, a temple of liberty,