The Cock Fight

Museum record 99603: The Cock Fight by Winslow Homer. A verified entry point for discovery.

What to notice

For The Cock Fight (record 99603), start with modern, expressive, atmospheric. Compare the focal subject, edge treatment, and atmosphere before moving on.

Discover

In contrast to the free, confident brushwork of his Nassau images, Homer’s watercolors completed in Cuba (winter 1884-85) are characterized by more neutral color and finicky handling. In The Cock Fight , Homer used the simple backdrop of a plaster wall to offset his careful depiction of two decoratively feathered roosters. Although painted with atypical deliberation, the watercolor is intended to capture the fleeting moment when a battered young rooster has just vanquished an older, fully plumed male. As…