Blue Spring, Florida
This painting shows a view of a calm body of water with greenery surrounding it. Across the water appears to be a hill or shore that slopes upward to the top of the painting, painted in gray and cream tones and covered in palm-like plants in shades of green, brown, and rusty red. A similar plant is visible near the bottom right corner in a dark shade of yellow. The water in the center is painted in shades of blue with some ripples across the top. The brushstrokes are fluid.
Colors in this work
Details
- Artist
- Winslow Homer
- Date
- 1890
- Medium
- watercolor on wove paper
- Dimensions
- sheet: 29.8 × 50.8 cm (11 3/4 × 20 in.)
- Department
- CG-W
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Palette
-
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- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Gift of Ruth K. Henschel in memory of her husband, Charles R. Henschel
Art Genome Taxonomy
9 tags
Subject Matter
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Landscapes and Waterscapes Both · 99%
The image depicts an expansive body of water bordered by a vegetated shore, and the catalog title identifies the scene as Blue Spring, Florida.
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Flora Both · 98%
Palm-like leaves and dense vegetation occupy much of the upper half of the image; the catalog description specifically notes palm-like plants and greenery.
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Water Both · 99%
Blue water with horizontal marks and lighter breaks fills the lower half of the composition, consistent with the catalog description of a calm body of water with ripples.
Visual Qualities
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Earth Tones Visual · 90%
Muted greens, blue-greens, gray, cream, brown, and rusty red create a subdued natural palette, with the cooler blue water providing contrast.
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Asymmetrical Visual · 87%
The shoreline and foliage form an irregular upper band, while a cropped plant enters from the lower-right edge, producing an uneven composition.
Medium and Techniques
-
Watercolor Both · 99%
The catalog identifies the medium as watercolor on wove paper, and the image visibly shows watercolor washes and fluid pigment passages.
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Work on Paper Both · 98%
The catalog specifies wove paper, and the image shows the work as a painted sheet with paper remaining visible in several passages.
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Large Brushstrokes/Loose Brushwork Both · 94%
The catalog describes the brushstrokes as fluid, and the image shows broad, loose horizontal strokes across the water and freely applied washes in the vegetation.
Time Periods
-
19th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog dates the work to 1890, placing it within the nineteenth century.
Source & rights
Winslow Homer. Blue Spring, Florida. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.
High-resolution sources
- IIIF image service ↗ 5,426 × 3,197 · National Gallery Of Art · Available