A Reconnaissance
Frederic Remington American
After 1900 Remington produced an evocative series of nocturnes that feature darkness as an essential narrative element. Rendered in a muted palette of blue, green, and brown, A Reconnaissance depicts three cavalry soldiers and their horses in a moonlit, snow-blanketed landscape. An officer and scout have ventured forth to a hillcrest to survey a distant tree line, alert to the possibility of confrontation. By turning the figures away from the viewer, Remington creates an aura of moody mystery and enhances the suspense of an uncertain outcome.