Bay Scene (from Sketchbook)
1890
Medium
Graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
4 3/4 x 7 3/4 in. (12.1 x 19.7 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Marguerite H. Rohlfs, 1995
Accession Number
1995.379.4d recto
Art Historical Context
Albert Bierstadt, a leading figure of the Hudson River School, renowned for his dramatic, luminist landscapes that romanticized the American wilderness, from the Yosemite Valley to the Rocky Mountains. Created in 1890, late in his career, * Scene (from Sketchbook offers an intimate glimpse into his on-the-spot observation process. This modest graphite drawing on wove paper depicts a serene coastal bay, likely sketched en plein air during one of Bierstadt's travels the East Coast or California shores, capturing the subtle play of light and form that defined his grand oil paintings. The use of ...
About the Artist
Albert Bierstadt · 1830–1902
Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) was a German-American landscape painter renowned for his monumental, luminous depictions of the American West. As a prominent member of the second generation of the Hudson River School and the Rocky Mountain School, Bierstadt created sweeping panoramas that captured the sublime grandeur of untamed wilderness with unprecedented theatrical scale and romantic vision. His ...