Analysis of Albert Bierdstats Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California
Albert Bierstadt's Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California is a scenic canvas oil painting on display at the National Museum of American Art in Washington, DC. Created in 1868, this enormous painting is approximately six by ten feet in size (Honour and Fleming, 2000). The subject matter of this piece is typical of Bierstadt, who is known for his detailed landscapes, especially those of the Rockies and Sierras of the American West. Collectively, Albert's works are manipulated and slightly idealized scenes based on actual places he visited. Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) was born in Germany and at the age of two, he moved with his parents to Massachusetts. In his early twenties, he studied art in Dusseldorf, Germany. He traveled between the U.S. and Europe throughout his life and painted mostly for private collectors. Between 1859 and 1889, he traveled through the West on six different occasions where he drew inspiration for many of his paintings (Encarta, 2000). During his visits, Albert drew numerous sketches, which later became the basis for his works. Bierstadt's brother, who was a photographer, accompanied him on several of his travels across the U.S. and upon seeing the landscapes from the photographs; Alber
A looser, perhaps more American style, was used in painting the clouds. It depicts a photographic-like scene of a lake beneath the rocky cliffs of mountains. Bierstadt shows his German background in the style of this painting. Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California depicts nature's beauty in a peaceful quiet solitude way as to entice the viewer to experience the wilderness first hand. Swirling clouds at the top of the scene gives the picture a sense of airiness and an almost mystical god-like quality. Seemingly the viewer is looking from a vantage point that is higher than the foreground as though one is looking down towards the lake and up into the mountains. In this piece, brush strokes are barely visible and the surface is smooth in texture suggesting the photographic realism of a camera. Darker clouds cover the top left and right hand corners adding to this effect. The trees on the right and the cliffs on the left create a "v" in the center of the painting, which draws the viewer's eye towards the lower center. The rest of the landscape is meticulously detailed. The foreground containing short grasses and the lake is smooth and as the eye moves upward the scenery gets progressively rougher.
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