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Show 95 By 1828, after training with Meier for five years, Bodmer was ready to strike out on his own and headed for Germany and the picturesque country of the Rhine and Mosel rivers. Etchings of these areas were in great demand by tourists and for the next four years Bodmer produced numerous panoramas and "artistic views," often in collaboration with his brother Rudolf, who etched the watercolors Bodmer created. Uniformly, these uninspiring paintings typified the prosaic views Bodmer had been trained to produce.^ This minor tradition in landscape painting, passed on from Meier to his nephew, should not be underestimated when examining any of Bodmer's American works. The realistic elements are always present and greatly contributed to Bodmer's success as a scientific illustrator during the expedition. Certainly, this realism is most evident in Bodmer's portraits and in his zoological and ethnological studies. However, even though Bodmer's American landscapes can accurately be labeled as romantic and picturesque, it is impossible to overlook the realism of any of these paintings, which are always, to varying degrees, a blend of realism and romance.^ Identifying the realism in these paintings may provide some insight into the multiple approaches to the diverse subject matter Bodmer encountered in America. At the same time, Bodmer's landscapes cannot be conveniently lumped into one all-encompassing category labeled "landscapes," for there are several quite different types of landscape in Bodmer's portfolio. Perhaps through the varied styles Bodmer hoped to achieve different results. A brief examination of these styles may allow Bodmer's artistic and documentary intentions to be traced. It is possible that Bodmer used the minutely precise etching style he had |
