a harlequin outfit, in European theater this represents an outcast of society. A woman to his left is sewing clothing out of ceremonial African dress from the slave festival of Jonkonnu. After the civil war, aspects of Jonkonnu became part of the African American celebration of the Fourth of July. This painting actually documents the interweaving of cultural traditions after emancipation.The Weeders too carries symbolism. There is recognition of the laboring class. Figures are large on the canvas, respectfully large, and the darkness on their backs suggests societies blindness to their lives and labors.The subject matter and views expressed stem from a lifetime of influences. Background information is helpful in understanding these works.Winslow Homer was born in 1836 in Boston. At the age of eight his family moved to Cambridge and he attended primary school. Winslows earliest documented work was done at the age of ten. It is a collection of three drawings now at Bowdoin College in Maine. "Surely young Winslow had done a lot of practicing. Obviously, he also had worked with his mother, who was far more than just another amateur painter of pretty pictures." (2 ) His father went west to California to make his fortune in gold but returned empty handed. But he did come home to see that Winslows skills had grown considerably. His first professional work was in 1854 when he did a sheet-music cover, a lithograph for a Boston firm. This was the beginning of his career as an artist. In 1875 Homer visited Virginia for the first time. This would inspire the sketch, made on a second visit two years later, for Dressing for the Carnival. "Much has been written about Homers trip - or trips- to Virginia. Most writers seem aware of the difficulties and slide over the matter." (2) Though his work was well received by some, many people did not agree with his subject matter and message. This dialogue was relayed to an art literary maga...
