Oil Painting 'The Gulf Stream' By Winslow Homer
The Gulf Stream, is an oil painting created by Winslow Homer in 1899. This piece of artwork showcases a young, African American man with only pants on for clothing, that has a destroyed boat and is in the middle of the ocean with sharks beneath him with crashing waves that are tipping his boat closer into the ocean all while he sits on the boat just looking out into the ocean. This artwork also shows us the mental strength of mankind, the ability to remain calm and collected in horrendous situations, such as what this young man is going through right now.
The man, despite being in such a death-like situation, has a calm face on. His facial features are not showing fear or any type of emotion for that matter. He has a passive, not at all worried
kind of face. He seems to be unaware of the situation he is in, if he has acknowledged everything that is happening, like the sharks beneath the boat that are circling him with their gaping mouths filled with razor sharp teeth or the crashing waves that are slowly tipping his entire boat closer into the water, he is remaining extremely calm. This ties in with my thesis because he has the mental strength to keep calm in his current situation, he is not panicking about what has happened and what could happen to him. He is not panicking about anything, because if he does, that might cause a more series of unfortunate events to happen to him, so he must keep calm to stay alive.
Another thing about this art that shows he has the right amount of mental strength to keep a tight hold on his emotions, an example would be the pose he decides to sit in. He is sitting on the higher end of the boat (the side that is not the closest to the ocean), while looking out into the distance, possibly looking for a rescue ship that could save him. As there is a much bigger ship that is in the far distance of him. Despite everything that is happening, he is in a pose that would belong on a sunny, sandy beach. Not in the middle of the sea when he is surrounded by sharks and the deadly ocean with nothing to help him fend off against the sharks or help him repair his boat. This supports my thesis because as seen in this piece of artwork, his mental strength and willpower is extremely high, which gives us the idea that mankind has that strength to persevere or in this case, stay alive when faced with troubling situations.
The man, despite being in such a death-like situation, has a calm face on. His facial features are not showing fear or any type of emotion for that matter. He has a passive, not at all worried
kind of face. He seems to be unaware of the situation he is in, if he has acknowledged everything that is happening, like the sharks beneath the boat that are circling him with their gaping mouths filled with razor sharp teeth or the crashing waves that are slowly tipping his entire boat closer into the water, he is remaining extremely calm. This ties in with my thesis because he has the mental strength to keep calm in his current situation, he is not panicking about what has happened and what could happen to him. He is not panicking about anything, because if he does, that might cause a more series of unfortunate events to happen to him, so he must keep calm to stay alive.
Another thing about this art that shows he has the right amount of mental strength to keep a tight hold on his emotions, an example would be the pose he decides to sit in. He is sitting on the higher end of the boat (the side that is not the closest to the ocean), while looking out into the distance, possibly looking for a rescue ship that could save him. As there is a much bigger ship that is in the far distance of him. Despite everything that is happening, he is in a pose that would belong on a sunny, sandy beach. Not in the middle of the sea when he is surrounded by sharks and the deadly ocean with nothing to help him fend off against the sharks or help him repair his boat. This supports my thesis because as seen in this piece of artwork, his mental strength and willpower is extremely high, which gives us the idea that mankind has that strength to persevere or in this case, stay alive when faced with troubling situations.