The Morning Bell (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. XVII)
Original title: The Morning Bell (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. XVII)
kurzbeschreibung
Winslow Homer made the wood engraving The Morning Bell in 1873 as an illustration for Harper's Weekly. A group of people carrying buckets crosses a wooden bridge to fetch water, with a house and chimney visible beyond them. Printed in black and white, the picture belongs to the realistic style of its period.
Description
A horizontal format gives the bridge, spanning the river, the leading role in the layout. Several figures are scattered across it, some carrying buckets, others standing together in groups. Behind them rises a house with a roof and chimney, and a single person with a bucket stands up on the roof. The figures wear clothing of the nineteenth century. Light falls evenly, without strong shadows or contrasts.
Context
Homer produced this wood engraving for Harper's Weekly, one of the leading illustrated magazines in the United States during the nineteenth century. The issue of December 13, 1873 carried the illustration, which takes rural everyday life as its subject. Through the 1870s Homer worked regularly as an illustrator for the paper before turning more fully to painting.
Impact
A quiet, ordinary atmosphere emanates from the print. Even light and clear lines give it a matter-of-fact mood. Rich in detail and realistic, with no dramatic heightening, it brings out the documentary character of the illustration.
Technique
The image was executed as a wood engraving, a relief process in which the design is cut into a block of wood. Fine lines and precise shading suit this technique, which was widely used for book and magazine illustration in the nineteenth century. The image area measures 23.2 x 34.3 cm, the sheet 27.5 x 40.6 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)