This painting shows a person fishing in a small blue-gray boat, situated to the left of center. The individual's back is to us, and they hold a fishing rod that extends from the center of the painting into the water on the far right. The person is wearing a tan shirt, tan pants with a brown belt, and a wide-brimmed tan hat. There are thick, dark green and blue trees in the background; the water reflects dark greens and blues, as well as shades of tan and white from the boat and person. The brushstrokes are loose, and different colors of paint blend softly with one another.

Casting, Number Two

Winslow Homer

This painting shows a person fishing in a small blue-gray boat, situated to the left of center. The individual's back is to us, and they hold a fishing rod that extends from the center of the painting into the water on the far right. The person is wearing a tan shirt, tan pants with a brown belt, and a wide-brimmed tan hat. There are thick, dark green and blue trees in the background; the water reflects dark greens and blues, as well as shades of tan and white from the boat and person. The brushstrokes are loose, and different colors of paint blend softly with one another.

Colors in this work

Details

Artist
Winslow Homer
Date
1894
Dimensions
sheet: 38.5 × 54.5 cm (15 3/16 × 21 7/16 in.)
Department
CG-W
Holding institution
National Gallery of Art
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

10 tags

Subject Matter

  • The composition visibly presents an expansive body of water, reflections, and a wooded shoreline.

  • A seated human figure is shown from behind in the boat, with the back turned toward the viewer.

  • Modes of Transportation Visual · 95%

    A small boat occupies the foreground and serves as a central structural element of the scene.

  • Movement Both · 97%

    The figure is visibly engaged in casting a rod across the water, as also indicated by the catalog title.

Visual Qualities

  • Dark Colors Visual · 98%

    Deep greens, blue-grays, and near-black tones dominate the image, with lighter tan and pale accents on the figure, boat, and reflections.

Medium and Techniques

  • Drawing Metadata · 99%

    The National Gallery of Art classifies the work as a drawing and identifies its medium as watercolor over graphite on wove paper.

  • Watercolor Metadata · 99%

    The catalog identifies the medium as watercolor over graphite on wove paper.

  • Work on Paper Metadata · 98%

    The catalog specifies wove paper as the support.

  • Water, foliage, clothing, and the boat are rendered with broad, loose marks and softly blended washes.

Time Periods

  • 19th Century Art Metadata · 99%

    The catalog dates the work to 1894, placing it within nineteenth-century art.

Source & rights

Winslow Homer. Casting, Number Two. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.

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