A Parisian Ball - Dancing at the Mabille 1867

Winslow Homer made this print for Harper’s Weekly, using the technique of wood engraving. While seemingly simple, it involved skilled labor. A design would be drawn on the surface of a wood block, then carefully carved in relief by an engraver, who would have to be trained and equipped with specialized tools to create clean, precise lines. Look closely, and you'll see how the lines, dots, and cross-hatching create tone and texture. This print documents a Parisian dance hall. Notice how Homer suggests the bustling atmosphere through the figures’ poses and gestures, captured with such a graphic, immediate medium. Prints like this were not just art. They were a key medium of mass communication. In a world before photography dominated journalism, wood engravings brought images of current events to a wide audience. Homer’s print, therefore, gives us access to a specific moment in time, seen through the lens of both artistic skill and industrialized modes of production.