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Show 81 might seem myopic. The detail he used in rendering stands of trees-down to individual branches and leaves-surely must be considered inappropriate, quaint, or precious. Such vastness demanded a sweeping and bold execution. However, Bodmer used the very smallness of scale seen in these trees to underscore the overwhelming expanses of water, sky, and forested hills he witnesssed. All of the paintings of this section of the Missouri region invariably are composed of minutely detailed land masses-narrow horizontal bands of exquisite detail-sandwiched between the massive river flowing over the entire lower half of the paintings and the open sky, occupying the upper half of the images. These paintings successfully hint at the vastness in which these stands of trees are dwarfed.2 As the expedition continued farther up the Missouri the surroundings again changed. No less vast, the terrain became more austere, massive, and formidable. With this change Bodmer also modified his style. Still rich in detail, the watercolors Bodmer produced during this segment of the expedition were more panoramic in scope. Not surprisingly, Bodmer again drew upon his European training to achieve a compromise between accurate documentation and romantic interpretation. One such watercolor, White Castles on the Missouri (Figure 4.1), a panoramic view of one of the unusual geological formations the expedition observed, is representative of Bodmer's interpretation of this changing landscape.^ On the last segment of the expedition's passage up the Missouri to Fort McKenzie, Maximilian and Bodmer passed a series of eroded bluffs and hills which so resembled medieval architecture that initially both men were convinced these strange geological formations were the work of man rather |
