Harvest Scene

Winslow Homer

ca. 1873 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

Homer’s preoccupation with idyllic agrarian subjects and direct observation of nature recalls those of French Barbizon School artists, such as Jean-François Millet, who worked near the Fontainebleau forest beginning in the 1830s. Homer might have seen their paintings in his native Boston and during his trip to Paris in 1866–67. Characteristic of Homer’s art of this period is his use of direct, overhead light to define the middle ground. Small figures harvesting hay are merely suggested with quick dabs of paint. Calligraphic tree trunks and spreading branches form an irregular gridlike pattern against the sky.

Artist

Winslow Homer

Date

ca. 1873

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

George A. Hearn Fund, 1909