Lumbering in Winter (Every Saturday, Vol. II, New Series)
Original title: Lumbering in Winter (Every Saturday, Vol. II, New Series)
kurzbeschreibung
Winslow Homer made this wood engraving, Lumbering in Winter, in 1871 as a contribution to the magazine Every Saturday. Two loggers at work in a snow-covered forest fill the black-and-white print.
Description
Up front a man in a cap, jacket, and trousers stands on snowshoes, handling an axe and a log. A second worker farther back is busy with an axe and log of his own. Scattered branches and leaves lie on the snowy ground. Tall, dense trees dominate the woods, while the grain of the wood and the cast shadows give the picture depth and a sense of realism.
Context
The engraving appeared on January 28, 1871, in the second series of Every Saturday. During the 1870s Winslow Homer worked as an illustrator for various publications, recording scenes of everyday American life. The loggers point to the importance of the timber industry at the time.
Impact
The black-and-white rendering and the delicate lines of the engraving lend the scene a quiet, wintry mood. The careful attention to the snowshoes and to the workers' movements makes the physical labor in the cold feel authentic.
Technique
Wood engraving uses a block into which the image is cut before printing. The method allows fine detail and large print runs, which made it ideal for magazine publication. This impression comes from J.P. Davis and is dated January 28, 1871.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)