| Snap the Whip | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Artist | Winslow Homer |
| Year | 1872 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Location | Private Collection |
| Dimensions | 12 × 20 in |
| 30.5 × 50.8 cm | |
| Famous Paintings by Winslow Homer | |
| Snap the Whip | |
| The Gulf Stream | |
| Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) | |
| Right and Left | |
| The Fox Hunt | |
| Eight Bells | |
| The Life Line | |
| The Herring Net | |
| The Blue Boat | |
| Complete Works |
The great American painter Winslow Homer is probably best known for his seascapes and scenes of the American northeast coastal regions. With Snap the Whip, Homer captures an idyllic scene of boys playing outside a rural one-room school house.
The boys are playing “snap the whip,” a game in which they line up to hold hands as they attempt to fling away the boy on the end of the human chain.
Capturing the Innocence of a Reborn America
This is an oil-on-canvas completed in 1872. Homer was among many artists of this period who attempted to capture the innocence and promise of a post-Civil War America.
It’s a bright and cheerful painting with a tiny school house painted vibrant red in the background. In the foreground is a vast grassy expanse of green strewn with wildflowers. The sky is blue and graced with fluffy white clouds. Eight boys, barefoot and dressed in rustic clothing, joyfully rough-house and wrestle as they form up a chain and send the boy on the end flying to the ground.
Symbolism
Some say the painting symbolizes a nation re-joined after the bitter years of war, now together with a joyous energy, and at the same time a challenge that requires strength and courage.