Artwork
The Field Hospital
The Field Hospital is an unspecified painting by the Realist artist Eastman Johnson. It dates from 1867 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
About this work
History & Provenance
31 cm in width, consistent with its identification as a modestly scaled easel work rather than a large-scale mural or history painting.
The Field Hospital was created by Eastman Johnson in 1867. The work is a painting that depicts a scene containing a tent, a tree, and a bed. It is currently held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The painting measures 56.2 cm in height and 67.31 cm in width. No further details regarding specific commissioning, ownership transfers, or the precise circumstances of its creation history are provided in the available records.
The Field Hospital is held by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, which houses the painting within its collection. The work, completed by Eastman Johnson in 1867, is catalogued as a painting by that institution. No accession number is recorded in the available documentation, and no exhibition history is documented in the sources provided.
The painting measures 56.2 cm in height and 67.31 cm in width, consistent with its identification as a modestly scaled easel work rather than a large-scale mural or history painting. Its subject matter, depicting a tent, a tree, and a bed, reflects Johnson's documented interest in Civil War-era medical and camp scenes, though the specific provenance chain prior to its acquisition by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston is not recorded in the available sources.
Overview
Eastman Johnson’s 1867 canvas The Field Hospital presents a quiet, outdoor medical scene rendered in a realist style. Set beneath a leafy tree, a makeshift tent shelters a bedridden figure attended by a woman in dark clothing. The composition balances the intimacy of personal care with the broader natural environment, and the work is part of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The painting captures a moment of tender assistance: a woman leans over a man lying on a simple bed, his right arm raised as if in discomfort or recovery. The setting suggests a temporary field infirmary, emphasizing themes of compassion, vulnerability, and the ordinary hardships of wartime life, rather than heroic or dramatic narratives.
Technique & Style
Johnson employs meticulous brushwork and a subdued palette to convey texture, from the fabric of the woman’s attire to the foliage surrounding the tent. His realist approach, informed by 17th‑century Dutch genre painting, emphasizes accurate detail and natural lighting, allowing the viewer to sense the quiet atmosphere of the scene.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jonathan Eastman Johnson (July 29, 1824 – April 5, 1906) was an American painter and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, with his name inscribed at its entrance.
- Äiti nukkuvan lapsen vuoteen vieressä
Death of an Orphan
Death of an Orphant
La visita de la madre al hospital
An Anxious Hour
The first born
Landscape with a Stream
Campaign Sketches: The Letter for Home
The Daughter of Jairius
Grandmother's visit to the little Convalescent
Äiti lukee sairaalle lapselleen
Kyynelten tunti (L'ora del' pianto)