Explore the Description and background of this artwork.
This composition is among Homer's simplest, showing the veteran as the sole figure in a field of grain, holding a scythe. The only pieces of evidence that the figure is a Civil War veteran are the jacket and canteen in the lower right hand corner, in the downed wheat. The symbolic use of nature, formality, and expressiveness were all novel elements in Homer's work.Homer employs a Rückenfigur (a figure seen from behind), which obscures the man's identity and allows him to stand more generally for any soldier that fought for the Union. The jacket and canteen, however, specifically belong to the division that Homer accompanied during his time covering the American Civil War.
Rückenfigur American Civil War Union