The Return, Tynemouth, photomicrograph

Homer applied touches of glossy, red glaze to the ends of the fishermen’s buoys in The Return, Tynemouth (figure d). He used the gum glaze over strokes of vermillion watercolor, an opaque, matte pigment that probably appeared too flat to achieve the desired effect. Solid, undissolved gum granules in the glaze, visible under magnification, indicate that the artist made his glazes by dissolving dry gum (most likely gum arabic) in water and then mixing it with watercolor. …