Another Year by the Old Clock
Original title: Another Year by the Old Clock (from "Harper's Bazar," Vol. III)
kurzbeschreibung
On January 1, 1870, Winslow Homer's wood engraving "Another Year by the Old Clock" graced the cover of Harper's Bazar. It pictures a couple indoors, their gaze turned thoughtfully toward a clock and a fireplace. Executed in black and white, the sheet measures 39.4 by 27.9 cm.
Description
Up front stand a gentleman in a suit and top hat and a lady in a headdress and long-sleeved dress; both look in the same direction. Behind them the room opens up with a fireplace, a picture hanging above it, and a wall clock. The layout feels balanced and calm. Light falls from the front, striking figures and background evenly. The monochrome rendering brings out fine lines and gradations in which the structure of the wood is discernible.
Context
The illustration was made for the New Year's issue of Harper's Bazar, a widely read American magazine of the day. Through the 1860s and 1870s Winslow Homer drew regularly for Harper's Publications. The turn of the year was among the common motifs of nineteenth-century printmaking. Homer designed the sheet as a wood engraving, well suited to large press runs in magazines.
Impact
A quiet, contemplative mood emanates from the scene, carried by the symmetrical arrangement and the frontal light. The dense linework draws the eye to the figures and to the clock as a sign of transience. Thanks to its clear black-and-white design, the sheet has a timeless, graphic presence.
Technique
For the wood engraving the motif was cut into a woodblock and then transferred to paper with printing ink. Cuts of varying depth in the wood produced the fine lines and shadows that allowed precise reproduction in printing. The sheet's format matches the usual size for magazine illustrations of the period.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)