Peach Blossoms

Peach Blossoms is one of Winslow Homer's most iconic pieces. In his formative years as a painter, Winslow mostly drew pieces that showed leisure and this is no different.

Drawn in 1879, Peach Blossoms is an exquisite display of elegance and class encompassed in the purest form of nature. This painting shows a young damsel quaintly observing a burgeoning peach come into life by blossoming. The American painter was more likely trying to indicate the young woman coming to her youth and early spring. The setting of the painting reflects the nostalgic fading of the rural side. Winslow's work represents a form of artwork that is uninterrupted with foreign influences and shows the purest form of American quality painting. He uses a lighter palette and attention is drawn to the linearity of the tree which some critics suggest is reminiscent of the Japanese form of calligraphy.

This beautiful painting is a stringing piece of visual evidence of the artistic change on a global scale in the late 19th century. His stylistic approach to the painting somewhat links this piece to both Japanese and French art. The peach blossom was inspired by Homer’s native town. He lived in Portus Neck and enjoyed the quiet and isolation from privacy. From this, he was able to observe the relationship between the sea and the people and the fragile, transient human life the timelessness of nature to produce the iconic Peach Blossoms and the rest of his paintings.

He tried as much as possible to depict realism in his paintings, including Peach Blossoms for the viewers to fully grasp the precise, detailed and accurate representation of his art. One of his paintings that best depicts the realism in his work is the Coast Of Maine. This piece shows the raging of the sea through the precise diagonal shoreline represented by rugged rock. He observed the shoreline of Portus Neck, Maine and depicted the dramatic seascapes in his response to nature and void of human life.

His marine pieces are quite big in comparison to his other artwork to show the vastness and glory of the sea. Homer was indeed one of the greatest artists of the 19th century. He has inspired countless artwork in the modern world like the "Inspired by Wilson Homer" which features works of 27 local contemporary artists. Among these is the "Gone Fishing" which is an oil painting by Ruth Vallon. The unique brush styles of Homer and realism are realized by an artist today in their artwork.