Howe Sound, Above Vancouver (from Sketchbook) (1890, Met-Objekt 2678)
Original title: Howe Sound, Above Vancouver (from Sketchbook)
kurzbeschreibung
In 1890 Albert Bierstadt set down a river landscape with a rocky shore and distant mountains in graphite on wove paper. The sheet, titled Howe Sound, oberhalb von Vancouver, comes from one of his sketchbooks.
Description
A river crosses the sheet from left to right and gives the view its direction. Along its edge a rocky coast rises in waves, its swells and hollows worked out with care. Far mountains or hills close off the view behind. People and objects are absent altogether; the arrangement stays plain, the rendering realistic and rich in detail.
Context
Albert Bierstadt became famous for landscapes of the American West. This drawing dates from 1890, late in his career, while he was staying in the area around Vancouver. It belonged to a sketchbook from which paintings later grew.
Impact
Calm and concentration come off the sheet, since nature here is reduced to a few means. Precisely guided strokes and the exact account of the rocks give the view something almost cartographic and draw the eye to every detail.
Technique
Graphite on wove paper allows fine, controlled strokes. Through hatching and graded gray values Bierstadt brings about depth and surface texture through drawing alone.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)