The artwork “Peeling a Lemon,” created by the esteemed artist Winslow Homer in the year 1876, epitomizes the Realism art movement. The genre of this piece is classified as a portrait, encapsulating the simplicity and immediacy of a moment in everyday life, thus embodying the principles of Realism.
In the artwork, a female figure is captured in the act of peeling a lemon, her focus entirely directed towards the fruit in her hands. She sits on an ornate stool, and her attire suggests a period style with a long skirt and a blouse accented by red cuffs and a black choker at her neck. The light source illuminates the subject from above, casting soft shadows and revealing the texture of her garments and the stool. The background remains nondescript, a wash of neutral tones that serves to draw the viewer’s attention more intensely to the figure and her task. Homer’s use of watercolor in this composition renders the image with a delicacy and softness, while the precise execution of the subject’s form and the lemon itself speaks to the artist’s skill and attention to detail. The artwork captures an intimate, serene moment, portraying the subject in a state of contemplative engagement, a hallmark of Winslow Homer’s approach to portraiture within the Realism movement.
