[Figure studies: figures after Veronese]

Rothermel worked as a portrait painter during his early career, and turned to historical subjects during the 1840s. He established his reputation with images addressing the history of American colonization, including Columbus Before the Queen, and De Soto’s Discovery of the Mississippi. Rothermel's skill as a colorist and creator of complex compositions involving many figures drew, in part, upon the great works of the Venetian Renaissance painter, Paolo Veronese, and other artists of the Venetian School.