Karl Bodmer was hired by the naturalist and ethnologist Maximilian, Prince Wied-Neuwied to accompany him on a scientific tour of the United States and make illustrations for his book Travels in the Interior of North America. Between July 4, 1832 and July 16, 1834, the expedition traveled via the Ohio and Missouri Rivers to Great Falls, Montana and back.
The expedition spent the winter of 1832 at the utopian colony at New Harmony, Indiana. During the months of November and December, Bodmer went almost daily to the confluence of the Wabash and Fox Rivers to collect zoological specimens and to paint the scene. According to Maximilian, Bodmer did not complete these paintings in a single sitting, but usually returned several times to the site. Thus, these watercolors resemble studio works rather than the hasty sketches made while traveling the wilderness roads or the river. In the work on view, Bodmer's artistic creativity was freed from the formal restraints of scientific illustration and he is able to depict the natural beauty of the landscape.
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<P>Karl Bodmer was hired by the naturalist and ethnologist Maximilian, Prince Wied-Neuwied to accompany him on a scientific tour of the United States and make illustrations for his book Travels in the Interior of North America. Between July 4, 1832 and July 16, 1834, the expedition traveled via the Ohio and Missouri Rivers to Great Falls, Montana and back.</P><P>The expedition spent the winter of 1832 at the utopian colony at New Harmony, Indiana. During the months of November and December, Bodmer went almost daily to the confluence of the Wabash and Fox Rivers to collect zoological specimens and to paint the scene. According to Maximilian, Bodmer did not complete these paintings in a single sitting, but usually returned several times to the site. Thus, these watercolors resemble studio works rather than the hasty sketches made while traveling the wilderness roads or the river. In the work on view, Bodmer's artistic creativity was freed from the formal restraints of scientific illustration and he is able to depict the natural beauty of the landscape.</P>
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