← Albert Bierstadt

Landscape with Bay, Trees, and Mountains [Red Rock?] (from Sketchbook)

Original title: Landscape with Bay, Trees, and Mountains [Red Rock?] (from Sketchbook)

Artist

Albert Bierstadt

Date

1890

Medium

Graphite on wove paper

Dimensions

4 3/4 x 7 3/4 in. (12.1 x 19.7 cm)

Credit line

Bequest of Marguerite H. Rohlfs, 1995

kurzbeschreibung

This graphite drawing from 1890 by Albert Bierstadt shows a bay enclosed by trees and mountains. The sheet comes from a sketchbook and presents a nature study typical of the artist, executed in graphite on wove paper.

Description

Trees of various shapes and structures fill the foreground of the sheet. A small building can be made out at the lower left. Behind the groups of trees, mountains or hills appear only indistinctly. Different hatches create light and shadow; the view remains monochromatic throughout.

Context

Toward the end of his life, in 1890, Bierstadt continued to record nature in his sketchbook. He had become famous for large-scale landscape paintings of the American West. Such studies served him as material to which he returned in later works.

Impact

With few means and a loose, sketchy stroke, the sheet feels immediate and credible. The impression arises of an observation captured directly from nature, and viewers retain room for their own imaginings.

Technique

Graphite on wove paper carries the image. Finer and broader lines alternate, creating depth and texture. This sketchy handling is characteristic of studies as they arise in a sketchbook.

AI-generated description text

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)