Lake Nipissing (from Sketchbook)
Original title: Lake Nipissing (from Sketchbook)
kurzbeschreibung
In 1890 Albert Bierstadt drew a view of Lake Nipissing with trees in the foreground and background. The sheet comes from a sketchbook and was executed in graphite on wove paper.
Description
A flat, horizontal band marks the water of the lake. Before it stand trees whose trunks and branches are indicated only by simple lines. More trees close off the horizon. At the upper left Bierstadt noted the artist and date in his own hand; at the bottom appears the inscription 'FROM THE ESTATE OF MARY S. BIERSTADT, MARCH 1917'.
Context
The sketch was made in 1890, by which time Bierstadt was long known for his large-scale landscape paintings of the American West. Lake Nipissing in Ontario, Canada, was among the places he traveled. The sheet comes from a sketchbook that was managed after his death by his wife, Mary S. Bierstadt. Bierstadt often used such records as studies for later works.
Impact
A calm emanates from the sheet; the eye glides over the few lines and lingers on the lake and the silhouettes of trees. Because all incidental detail is absent, the essence of the landscape comes forward. Thus it becomes visible how Bierstadt captured a mood with a few strokes.
Technique
Graphite on wove paper, the lines plain and without hatching or realistic elaboration. In this sketch Bierstadt recorded the scene spontaneously in pencil.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)