View of Santiago de Cuba 1885

Winslow Homer made this watercolor titled "View of Santiago de Cuba." At first glance, it presents a peaceful scene, yet it's impossible to ignore the historical context of its creation. The artwork likely reflects the tensions of the Spanish-American War era. As a war correspondent and artist, Homer was sent to document the conflict. His gaze as a white, male American artist inevitably shaped the narrative he portrayed. It prompts us to consider whose stories are being told and whose are absent. What does it mean to depict a landscape marked by colonial history and conflict through the eyes of an outsider? The muted colors and distant perspective might reflect the emotional detachment of an observer, or perhaps a deeper unease with the role of the United States in Cuban affairs. This image invites us to reflect on the complexities of representation, and the power dynamics inherent in how we perceive and document historical events.