Shooting the Rapids, Saguenay River 1905 - 1910

Winslow Homer created 'Shooting the Rapids, Saguenay River', with oil paints. The colours are subdued, like a foggy memory, but the brushstrokes are really alive, especially in the water. It’s like Homer was wrestling with the paint, trying to pin down the fleeting movement of the rapids. Look at the churning water to the left of the image, the way he’s built up the layers of white and cream, it almost feels like you could reach out and touch the spray. There's a real sense of drama and danger in the way he’s handled the paint – thick, expressive strokes that capture the raw energy of the river. And that dark, brooding sky… you can almost feel the weight of it pressing down on the scene. It reminds me a little bit of Courbet, with its emphasis on the physical presence of the paint and its engagement with the landscape. Homer isn't trying to give us a polished, idealized version of nature; he’s showing us something wild and untamed.