Retrieved from Met Museum Accession Number: 22.207

Prisoners from the FrontNameInstitutional AffiliationDate
Prisoners from the Front
Retrieved from Met Museum Accession Number: 22.207
Prisoners from the Front is an 1866 art that was painted by Winslow Homer. The paint work was done in the year 1866, exactly one year after the end of the Civil War. Homer was a correspondent to the Civil War and used his understanding of the war to come up with the artwork. Before the painting, Homer had four years’ experience in the paintings using oil. Ideally, his painting was meant to indicate the organization of war and the different dynamics and the type of weapons that were used in the old days.[Prisoners from the Front Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine) Date: 1866 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 24 x 38in. (61 x 96.5cm) Framed: 36 1/2 × 50 5/8 × 4 1/2 in. (92.7 × 128.6 × 11.4 cm) Classification: Paintings Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Frank B. Porter, 1922 Accession Number: 22.207]
In the foreground, the art presents Union Officer Brigadier General Francis Channing Barlow who was leading the battalion to war. On the forefront also there are the Confederate officers who were captured. They are speaking with General Francis. The standing posture of General Francis indicates someone authoritative given the role that he played in the Civil War. Also, a close look at the arrested their standing posture indicates very submissive and people who are intimidated by General Francis. Their dressing style portrays the indigenous people who probably are very impoverished due to the effects of the war. Just below them, in the foreground, there are weapons on the ground, these weapons were used by the people arrested by General Francis. It indicates a submission and surrender from the...