Mountain Landscape with River (Stave?), Trees, and Island (from Sketchbook)
Original title: Mountain Landscape with River (Stave?), Trees, and Island (from Sketchbook)
kurzbeschreibung
Albert Bierstadt drew this mountain landscape with a river, trees and an island in 1890. The sheet comes from a sketchbook and is executed in graphite on wove paper.
Description
A river runs across the sheet, bordered by trees on both sides. These stand at varying heights, stepping the space backward. On the horizon, further groups of trees close off the view. Color and light effects are entirely absent; the motif remains in black and white.
Context
The sketch dates from 1890, late in Bierstadt's career. He became famous for large-scale landscape paintings of the American West, but this sheet belongs to a sketchbook that likely served for travel and study. The location of the mountain landscape depicted is not recorded.
Impact
Because everything is confined to graphite and the layout is clearly structured, the natural forms stand out. The simple, confident linework gives the sheet a quiet, reflective mood.
Technique
Drawn in graphite on wove paper, which is smooth and even in texture. The absence of color and the use of line and hatching demonstrate Bierstadt's drawing routine and his skill at capturing landscapes fleetingly in a sketchbook.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)