| OCR Text |
Show 67 throw doubt on all the primary source material, and the history of this sketch must be examined before confidence can be restored. Review of Bodmer's original portfolio, the watercolors and sketches in Maximilian's personal collection and now held by the Joslyn Art Museum, reveals no such obvious inaccuracies. The answer may lie in identifying the nature of the sketches held by the Newberry Library. Since Maximilian, by contractual agreement with Bodmer, was the owner of all the sketches and watercolors executed during the principal part of the expedition, the absence of this sketch from his collection indicates that it was probably not executed in America at all. Further, the inaccuracies present are not consistent with Maximilian's demands for scientific truth; it seems improbable that Bodmer would have pieced together such an inaccurate composite during the expedition. The Bodmer sketches held by the Newberry Library seem to fall into two separate categories. There are a number of unfinished portraits, already mentioned, which appear to be less-refined versions of those found in Maximilian's collection.13 The remaining sketches closely resemble many of the finished aquatints and it is likely that these are all preparatory drawings, executed by Bodmer in his Paris studio. The only serious inaccuracies are found in sketches in this collection of Bodmer's works at the Newberry Library and so it is probably safe to conclude that the accuracy of Bodmer's original portfolio, executed in America, and part of the Maximilian collection at the Joslyn Art Museum, need not be questioned.14 This first preparatory sketch for Travellers Meeting, held by the Newberry Library, was never used. Whether Bodmer realized Maximilian would object |
