Mid-Unit Post - Weaning the Calf

Picture by JR P

For my Unit 4 project I am going to analyze a painting called Weaning the Calf by Winslow Homer. This painting was published in 1875 and shows a young African American boy taking a calf away from it's mother so that it can learn to live on it's own. While he is doing this two young white boys watch as if this is a game. For my Mid-Unit post for this unit, I have found 5 images that relate to the contexts about this image from Homer. Following each one of these five images, I will give a concise paragraph explanation that explains the image's significance in clear, straightforward language. I will also include an explanation of how the image relates to the piece, Weaning the Calf. 

Picture by Irina 

For the first of five images, I chose another painting by Winslow Homer that he published in 1872 called Snap the Whip. Several scholarly sources say that this painting goes directly with Weaning the Calf. Both paintings contain young boys of the same age, but Snap the Whip only contains white boys. In this painting, Homer portrays young school boys playing a game outside their schoolhouse. The boys are painted as young and innocent, just like the two boys watching the calf in the previous painting. This image gave hope to American's and reminded them of the happy times before the Civil War. It also shows representations of freedom through the boys being barefoot and representation of becoming men with their suspenders. These young boys are transitioning into young men and are entering into a completely new world after the war. In the illustration the boys are depicted as playing some sort of game, almost like tug-of-war, where they are all holding hands. This "game" represents what was going on during the war. The nation was being tugged from two different sides, but the fact that they are all still holding hands represent unity and that the nation remained as a whole. The relation to Weaning the Calf is evident because both painting represent how easy life was before the war and reminiscing on the happiness. They both also represent how the country is changing into something new and even though it may be different and tough, we must remain together. 

Picture by timechaser

The next image is also by Winslow Homer called Boys in the Pasture from 1874. Homer painted two young farm boys sitting in a grass field that physically resemble the two young boys in Weaning the Calf. Both sets of boys in each picture are watching something happen, but in this painting it is not evident what they are watching. Homer painted this picture to remember the calmness and tranquility that was occurring before the Civil War. This picture also corresponds to the first image, Snap the Whip, because the boys resemble each other and these boys are also barefoot. 

Photo by Jennifer Mei

My third corresponding image is another painting by Homer named The Veteran in a New Field, which was painted in 1865, which would have been right after the Civil War ended. This painting illustrates a war veteran who has just gotten home from the war and is having to start back to work. The man is harvesting overgrown wheat from a field that has been neglected while the soldier was at war. The wheat represents the "new" nation because it is having to be recreated and join together in a brand new way. The fact that the wheat is still growing is hope for the future that the nation will be able to reconnect and grow as a country. The Veteran in a New Field relates to Weaning the Calf because they both represent how the nation is changing and growing into a brand new country and that there is still hope regardless of all the horrific damage that happened during the war. 

Picture by William Creswell

The fourth image is a picture of the front cover of the novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." This picture relates to Weaning the Calf because research has proved that these two pieces were published around the same time. Both of these pieces of art represent the freedom and innocence of young boys and how they were dealing with the Civil War. These young boys are having to learn a new way of life that they are not used to, which includes getting rid of slavery and attempting to treat African Americans as equals. Boys in the book and in the painting are having to become more responsible as they grow into young men as well as learn the new ways of the nation, along with every other American. 

Picture by Jim Surkamp

My final image that corresponds to Weaning the Calf is called The Watermelon Boys which is also another painting by Homer that was painted in 1876. This painting is of three children, one white and two black, sharing a watermelon together. This picture represents the new laws that were put in place after the Civil War and how a new generation of children are becoming friends, regardless of race. It also represents the future of the country and how if children are able to get along than so should adults. This painting relates to Weaning the Calf  because it shows how the nation has transformed from the two white boys watching the black boy wean the calf and in this image the boys are interacting together.