Peach Blossoms
Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910)
1878
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 33.7 × 49 cm (13 1/4 × 19 5/8 in.)
- Culture
- United States
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Gift of George B. Harrington
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Winslow Homer often depicted scenes of leisure in his early career. This painting features a young woman looking at burgeoning peach blossoms, indicating both early spring and perhaps her youth. The setting, which often recurs in Homer's oeuvre, reflects nostalgia for a fading rural past. Contemporary critics referred to the artist's style at this time as independent of foreign influences, suggesting an inherently American quality. However, his stylistic decisions link this work to both French and Japanese art. Impressionism inspired Homer's use of a lighter palette, and the attention to linearity in the tree is reminiscent of Japanese calligraphy. The painting thus serves as visual evidence of the global artistic exchange of the late 19th century.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
