Winslow Homer
United States, 1836-1910Winslow Homer (1836-1910) is best known for his American landscapes, specifically his seascapes from off the coast of Maine. He was a self-taught artist who followed the 19th-century precept to look at nature rather than pictures. Homer often painted in the open air to capture the effects of outdoor life and then refined and distilled his studies to construct a more forceful representation of his subjects.
Cloud Shadows was painted during Homer's later period when his subjects were predominantly heroic seascapes, emphasizing the struggles between man and nature. However, this seascape harkens back to Homer's middle period, which included rural scenes, children playing, and well-dressed women shown in fashionable resorts. These subjects celebrated old-fashioned rural values in a nation undergoing rapid change and urbanization.
Where is the horizon line? Because the horizon line is low, the sky occupies about two thirds of the picture.
How did Homer express the effects of light and shadow in this landscape?
Do the two figures in the painting belong to the same social class? Why not? Homer often included people from different social classes in the same painting. Homer was particularly interested in oppositions. What oppositions do you see in this painting?
Notice the two figures' clothing and the objects scattered around them. What is the man's profession? The man is a fisherman and so his livelihood depends on nature. The woman is probably a vacationer taking a stroll on the beach. How is the woman's relationship to nature different than the man's?
Does the woman look out at the viewer? She is engaged in conversation with the fisherman. Are viewers invited into this painting or are they observers?
Discuss the mood of the two figures' conversation. Is it peaceful or agitated?
Compare the mood of the two figures to their surroundings. Consider the gray cloud filled sky and shadows below. Consider how much space the two figures fill compared to nature. What mood do the gray clouds and cloud shadows convey?
Has Homer emphasized man or nature? Why?
Consider how this work relates to the Gilded Age.
Key points:
Desire for rural images, specifically vacation spots.
Impact of new scientific and spiritual theories
How does this picture express the new post-Civil War American landscape? Consider the rural location and vacationing woman. (landscape as playground, occupied by tourists, improved accessibility to rural locations, increased desire to escape growing urbanization of America)
Consider the new theories of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer. How does Homer's painting seem influenced by these theories?
