Mastering the Elements: Winslow Homer's Distinctive Technique Unveiled - Grant Little

 

    What is so unique about Winslow Homer’s Prisoners from the Front compared to other paintings made during this time? What distinguishes this canvas painting from others made during this period? Is it the combination of elements employed by Homer that renders it significant, the context in which the painting is made, or both? These questions can be answered through thoroughly observing Prisoners from the Front and comparing it to other artworks composed during this period. In this oil on canvas artwork, five main figures stand prominently in the foreground, four to the left and one to the right, dressed in war garments, and other figures in the background, on a ravaged battleground. Homer’s use of the element of implied line helps direct the viewer’s gaze around the canvas, emphasizing the five foreground figures. The incorporations of the elements of shape and space provide depth to the context in which the story is being told. Prisoners from the Front was also controversial during that time in America due to the humanizing of the enemy, specifically the Confederates, and the political tension undertones it brings attention to. The presence of Confederate prisoners creates humanization because it does not portray the Confederacy as some bloodthirsty enemy, but instead presents them as not much different from the Union. Through the post-war scene in this painting, Homer also brings light to the fact that now that the war is over, the people will need to find ways to resolve political tensions and unify the nation again. Winslow Homer’s Prisoners from the Front is distinctly unique from other American artworks made during this period in the 19^th century due to Homer’s unique utilization of the elements of shape, implied line, and space to exemplify the story being told through the figures in the painting by bringing attention to the controversial topics of humanization of the enemy and political tension undertones.

Thomas Hovenden, The Last Moments of John Brown, 1882-84, Oil on canvas, 77 3/8” x 66 ¼”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. From www.metmuseumart.org

        The Last Moments of John Brown by Thomas Hovenden illustrates a historical event that occurred in 1959 before the American Civil War. Hovenden abundant use of the element of implied line through the figures’ eyes and faces centralizes the main figure, John Brown. The element of space is also utilized around the main figure, focusing the viewer’s gaze on the figure that is positioned in the central portion of the canvas. Hovenden’s painting reflects the moment in which John Brown was sentenced to be hanged in Virginia for his views of abolishing slavery. Being an abolitionist himself, Hovenden had hopes of drawing further attention to this national issue by contriving a sympathetic work essentially about an abolitionist martyr.

Winslow Homer, Prisoners from the Front, 1866, Oil on canvas, 24” x 38”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. From www.metmuseumart.org

    Prisoners from the Front by Winslow Homer features a Union Army general by the name of Francis Channing Barlow. Homer utilizes the elements of implied line, space, and shape between the five central figures to help the viewer fully grasp what the painting is conveying. The elements present within Prisoners from the Front aid the viewer in recognizing the class differences between the general and the prisoners which causes the viewer to observe the humanizing of the Confederate prisoners in this scene. Homer’s work does a rather unprecedented phenomenon by expanding upon the controversial topics in the American culture at that time. The humanization of the Confederate prisoners helps the viewer get to the realization that the political tensions within the country now need to be resolved.

Theodor Kaufmann, On to Liberty, 1867, Oil on canvas, 36” x 56”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. From www.metmuseumart.org

    Theodor Kaufmann’s On to Liberty, while not specifically a war painting, features a significant subject that has taken place among the American public in the 19^th century. Being a Union soldier himself, Kaufmann in this painting features a group of African Americans fleeing to the North in hopes of attaining freedom. Kaufmann applies the elements of color, value, and space to convey the dynamic movement of these figures from a dark and dreadful place to a place with hope and light. In this painting, Kaufmann displays a cultural understanding in the Union states that blacks are coming to their land in hopes of finding freedom.

Thomas Waterman Wood, Reading the Scriptures, 1874, Watercolor, gauche, and graphite on light tan wove paper, 14 15/16” x 10 ¾”, Metropolitan Museum of Art. From www.metmuseumart.org.

    Painted during the end of the Reconstruction period in the United States, Reading the Scriptures by Thomas Watermann Wood features an old African-American man reading a Bible. Wood uses the elements of shape and value to draw attention to the figure’s composition. The figure sits rather low in the painting and his attention is fully on reading the Bible in his lap. The extra light upon the Bible and the little amount of light shown on the figure’s face exemplify the act of reading done by the figure. Wood hoped to bring awareness to the urgent issue of bringing education to the newly emancipated.

Winslow Homer, The Veteran in a New Field, 1865, Oil on canvas, 24 1/8” x 38 1/8”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. From www.metmuseumart.org

    The Veteran in a New Field is another Winslow Homer painting that features the difficulty and hope after the American Civil War. Homer’s use of the elements of color and value in this painting moves the viewer’s gaze from the bottom of the canvas, featuring a discarded Union Army jacket, to the bright and colored horizon, representing that hope can be found in the future. Homer hopes to give the viewer hope in a difficult time in the United States after the Civil War. 

Thomas Waterman Wood, A Bit of War History: The Veteran, 1866, Oil on canvas, 28 ¼ ” x 20 ¼ ”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. From www.metmuseumart.org

    A Bit of War History: The Veteran by Thomas Waterman Wood is the third part of a narrative triptych that depicts African-American military service during the American Civil War. In this painting, Wood depicts an amputee seeking his pension where he was first enlisted, which is shown in the first painting of the narrative triptych. Wood uses the elements of shape and value to personalize and humanize the figure to the viewer. The tall rectangular shape of the figure provides a sense of familiarity and sense of peace to the viewer but not full stability. This plays into how the figure is an amputee who cannot fully stand upright on his own. Through this painting, Wood hopes to bring more attention to Civil War veterans in the American public, especially African-American veterans.