The Russian Ball – In the Supper Room
Original title: The Russian Ball – In the Supper Room (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. VII)
kurzbeschreibung
A glass of wine passes from hand to hand: Winslow Homer's wood engraving, published in Harper's Weekly on November 21, 1863, leads into a dining hall where a woman in a lavish gown speaks with two men in uniform; other guests in uniform remain in the background.
Description
A woman in a long, elaborate dress stands in the foreground, turned toward an officer who is just offering her a wine glass. Beside him stands a second uniformed man, also holding a glass. The layout is clear and draws attention to this trio; behind them, other military men converse. Light falls evenly across the surface, as is characteristic of wood engraving.
Context
Created in the midst of the American Civil War, the print appeared in Harper's Weekly, a magazine that called itself a 'Journal of Civilization.' The Russian Ball, presumably a social event with diplomatic or military connections, falls within Homer's time as an illustrator for the paper, for which he recorded the life of his own day.
Impact
A convivial calm pervades the image: the even distribution of light and the clear arrangement contribute to this, and the interaction between the woman and the officers seems polite and distinguished. The impression is of a formal social occasion.
Technique
As a wood engraving—a relief process in which the design is cut into a wood block—the black-and-white print displays fine lines and an even spread of light typical of the technique. The dimensions are 11 13/16 x 16 1/8 inches (30 x 40.9 cm).
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)