拍品專文
Albert Bierstadt's paintings of the untamed American West are some of the most significant historical and artistic accomplishments of the nineteenth century. While other artists had made expeditions throughout the area as early as the 1830s, few could rival Bierstadt in his ability to convey the grandeur of this wondrous region to the American public. Painted in 1871, Mountainous Landscape by Moonlight depicts an expansive landscape populated only by three frontiersmen by a fire in the lower right corner. The firelight is vivid and the landscape dramatic, emphasizing Bierstadt's vision of a pristine West.
The remarkable and raw American landscape captivated Bierstadt, who described it in one of the many letters he sent back east for publication in the art magazine, The Crayon: "If you can form any idea of the scenery of the Rocky Mountains and of our life in this region, from what I have to write, I shall be very glad; there is indeed enough to write about--a writing lover of nature and Art could not wish for a better subject. I am delighted with the scenery...In the valleys, silvery streams abound with mossy rocks and an abundance of that finny tribe that we all delight so much to catch, the trout. We see many spots in the scenery that remind us of our New Hampshire and Catskill hills, but when we look up and measure the mighty perpendicular cliffs that rise hundreds of feet aloft, all capped with snow, we then realize that we are among a different class of mountains; and especially when we see the antelope stop to look at us, and still more the Indian, his pursuer, who often stands dismayed to see a white man sketching alone in the midst of his hunting grounds." (as quoted in G. Hendricks, Albert Bierstadt: Painter of the American West, New York, 1974, p. 70) In the New Bedford Daily Mercury, Bierstadt praised the Western landscape, writing that "For the most part, the weather has been delightful, and such beautiful cloud formations, such fine effects of light and shade, and play of cloud shadows across the hills, such golden sunsets. I have never before seen. Our own country has the best material for the artist in the world." (as quoted in Albert Bierstadt: Painter of the American West, p. 86)
With dramatic light and remarkable detail, Bierstadt has transcribed the glorious elements that he witnessed and the serenity of an unblemished wilderness in Mountainous Landscape by Moonlight of 1871. The strong horizontals of the river and landscape are balanced by the sturdy verticals of the towering mountains and trees. Although the layers of the composition help organize the painting into horizontal bands, the open view allows an easy movement through the landscape. Bierstadt paints the details of the figures, and the landscape illuminated by the campfire mountain with an eye towards creating an utterly placid, naturalistic scene of western splendor. The light hitting the intricately detailed figures and shore in the immediate foreground carry the viewer's eye to the hazier, cloud enshrouded mountain, suggestive of unending natural beauty, emphasized by the reflection of the landscape in the water. In the present painting, Bierstadt painted the three frontiersmen to contrast with the towering mountains above them and the expansive landscape. Although he often chose to paint landscapes without figures, in this work, Bierstadt uses them to effectively emphasize the magnificence and power of nature while capturing an image of the men who courageously explored the West.
Bierstadt's synthesis of the broadly monumental and the finely detailed, places his work among the most successful expressions of nature. This expression, through Bierstadt's attention to detail and evocation of light, harmoniously brings together the spiritual and natural world. Like no artist before him, Bierstadt established himself as the pre-eminent painter with both the technique and the talent to convey the powerful visual impact of the Western landscape, to capture the mammoth scale of the open spaces, and to begin to interpret this new American landscape in a manner equal to its majesty. In summarizing Bierstadt's achievement, Gordon Hendricks wrote that "his successes envelop us with the beauty of nature, its sunlight, its greenness, its mists, its subtle shades, its marvelous freshness. All of these Bierstadt felt deeply. Often he was able, with the struggle that every artist knows, to put his feelings on canvas. When he succeeded in what he was trying to do--to pass along some of this own passion for the wildness and beauty of the new West--he was as good as any landscapist in the history of American art." (Albert Bierstadt: Painter of the American West, New York, 1973, p. 10)
The remarkable and raw American landscape captivated Bierstadt, who described it in one of the many letters he sent back east for publication in the art magazine, The Crayon: "If you can form any idea of the scenery of the Rocky Mountains and of our life in this region, from what I have to write, I shall be very glad; there is indeed enough to write about--a writing lover of nature and Art could not wish for a better subject. I am delighted with the scenery...In the valleys, silvery streams abound with mossy rocks and an abundance of that finny tribe that we all delight so much to catch, the trout. We see many spots in the scenery that remind us of our New Hampshire and Catskill hills, but when we look up and measure the mighty perpendicular cliffs that rise hundreds of feet aloft, all capped with snow, we then realize that we are among a different class of mountains; and especially when we see the antelope stop to look at us, and still more the Indian, his pursuer, who often stands dismayed to see a white man sketching alone in the midst of his hunting grounds." (as quoted in G. Hendricks, Albert Bierstadt: Painter of the American West, New York, 1974, p. 70) In the New Bedford Daily Mercury, Bierstadt praised the Western landscape, writing that "For the most part, the weather has been delightful, and such beautiful cloud formations, such fine effects of light and shade, and play of cloud shadows across the hills, such golden sunsets. I have never before seen. Our own country has the best material for the artist in the world." (as quoted in Albert Bierstadt: Painter of the American West, p. 86)
With dramatic light and remarkable detail, Bierstadt has transcribed the glorious elements that he witnessed and the serenity of an unblemished wilderness in Mountainous Landscape by Moonlight of 1871. The strong horizontals of the river and landscape are balanced by the sturdy verticals of the towering mountains and trees. Although the layers of the composition help organize the painting into horizontal bands, the open view allows an easy movement through the landscape. Bierstadt paints the details of the figures, and the landscape illuminated by the campfire mountain with an eye towards creating an utterly placid, naturalistic scene of western splendor. The light hitting the intricately detailed figures and shore in the immediate foreground carry the viewer's eye to the hazier, cloud enshrouded mountain, suggestive of unending natural beauty, emphasized by the reflection of the landscape in the water. In the present painting, Bierstadt painted the three frontiersmen to contrast with the towering mountains above them and the expansive landscape. Although he often chose to paint landscapes without figures, in this work, Bierstadt uses them to effectively emphasize the magnificence and power of nature while capturing an image of the men who courageously explored the West.
Bierstadt's synthesis of the broadly monumental and the finely detailed, places his work among the most successful expressions of nature. This expression, through Bierstadt's attention to detail and evocation of light, harmoniously brings together the spiritual and natural world. Like no artist before him, Bierstadt established himself as the pre-eminent painter with both the technique and the talent to convey the powerful visual impact of the Western landscape, to capture the mammoth scale of the open spaces, and to begin to interpret this new American landscape in a manner equal to its majesty. In summarizing Bierstadt's achievement, Gordon Hendricks wrote that "his successes envelop us with the beauty of nature, its sunlight, its greenness, its mists, its subtle shades, its marvelous freshness. All of these Bierstadt felt deeply. Often he was able, with the struggle that every artist knows, to put his feelings on canvas. When he succeeded in what he was trying to do--to pass along some of this own passion for the wildness and beauty of the new West--he was as good as any landscapist in the history of American art." (Albert Bierstadt: Painter of the American West, New York, 1973, p. 10)