View of Mount Baker (from Sketchbook) (1890, Met-Objekt 2676)
Original title: View of Mount Baker (from Sketchbook)
kurzbeschreibung
Albert Bierstadt recorded Mount Baker in 1890 in a graphite sketch that captures the volcano's unmistakable outline with spare, matter-of-fact drawing. The sheet comes from a sketchbook, is worked in graphite on wove paper, and measures 12.1 by 19.7 centimeters. In all likelihood the artist used it as a preparatory study or as a note for later works.
Description
The mountain silhouette of Mount Baker runs across the width of the sheet from left to right. The stroke shifts in character and builds a textured surface in which the roughness of the rock and its shadows register. Densely set, detailed lines reproduce the mountain's natural form closely. No figures and no other objects appear; the whole arrangement is given over to the massif. Light and dark arise solely from strokes of varying density, which lends the sheet plasticity despite its monochrome.
Context
Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902), a German-American painter of the Hudson River School, became known above all for his large-scale landscapes of the American West. The drawing dates from 1890, when Bierstadt was long established and, on his journeys westward, repeatedly took up mountain scenery. Mount Baker in Washington recurs more than once in his work. Records of this kind formed the documentary basis for later studio pieces.
Impact
Plain and exact, the sheet presents the mountain in monumental calm. The dense linework gives the drawing something almost tactile and brings the natural surface of the mountain close to the viewer. Though everything is reduced to lines, a quiet, contemplative mood emanates from the sheet.
Technique
Graphite on wove paper, a common method for sketches that allows a quick and mobile line. Direction and density of the strokes produce tonal values and shading without any color at all. The small format points to a spontaneous record made on the spot.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)