The Water Fan

Winslow Homer painted The Water Fan during the period when his travels to the Bahamas and other warm-weather coastal sites sharpened his interest in clear tropical water, reflected light, and the labor of people working at sea. The watercolor shows Homer's late command of the medium: transparent turquoise washes, darker blue strokes, blotting, scraping, and the tooth of rough twill-textured paper all help create the sensation of moving water. The Art Institute identifies the tool in the scene as a glass-bottomed bucket, also called a water glass or sponge glass, used to quiet the visual disturbance of the water's surface and improve visibility below. Homer was especially drawn to this tension between surface motion and underwater clarity, and the work belongs to the same Bahamian watercolor context as The Sponge Diver. Areas of red wash that once suggested coral below the surface have faded, but the layered blue and turquoise passages still carry the work's main visual effect.