Open source Elasticsearch & Next.js museum search.
Cutting a Figure | musefully
Homer, Winslow. Cutting a Figure, 1871. Wood engraving, Image: 12 7/8 x 19 7/8 in. (32.7 x 50.5 cm)
Sheet: 11 1/8 x 14 5/8 in. (28.3 x 37.1 cm)
Frame: 22 3/4 x 28 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (57.9 x 73 x 3.8 cm). Gift of Harvey Isbitts, 1998.105.167. No known copyright restrictions.
The fashionable little coquette in this image functions as a charming seasonal “pin-up.” The title plays on two meanings of “cutting a figure”—referring both to the girl’s stylishness and to her pursuit of literally cutting a pattern in the ice. Homer created a fine picture that evokes the chill atmosphere and is filled with subtle compositional tensions, such as the relationship of the tree and its reflection in the ice that forms a rigid line along the length of the girl’s body.