Prisoners from the Front (Painting)

According to The History of Art: "The material that Winslow Homer collected as an artist-correspondent during the Civil War provided the subjects for his first oil paintings. In 1866, one year after the war ended and four years after he began to paint in oil, Homer completed the painting Prisoners from the Front.

It represents an actual scene from the war in which Union officer, Brigadier General Francis Channing Barlow (1834-1896), captured several Confederate soldiers and officers on June 21, 1864 in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. The background depicts the battlefield at Petersburg, Virginia.

Homer expertly characterized the range of personalities involved in the war, from the young, uncertain boy being captured to the bearded old man, humbly submitting to his fate, to the proud challenging stance of the third man still dressed in Confederate uniform. We feel the tension between Barlow and the Confederated soldier, yet it never threatens the stability of the image. Homer seemed to emphasize the sense of unity and spirit of a nation acknowledging a new direction."

Artist: Winslow Homer
Date: 1866
Location: Virginia
Original medium: Oil on canvas
Orientation: Horizontal/Landscape
Image restored & enhanced by Rebel Seed Studio