OCR Text |
Show 55 Notes 1. Travels was one of the last travelbooks of this period to be illustrated in aquatint. Lithographic reproductions were much easier to produce and, therefore, much less expensive. Maximilian's insistence that the illustrations for Travels be more elaborate than simple lithographs had been one of the main reasons it had been so difficult for him to find a publisher willing to take on the project; it is also the main reason why Travels was ultimately a financial disaster. 2. So many of the drawings in his portfolio are figure studies and rough sketches of group scenes, drawn from various perspectives, it is difficult to avoid this conclusion. 3. This is not to imply that the watercolors are more "documents" than "art." Maximilian had hoped to find a competent artist for his expedition and-both during the journey and afterwards--was enthusiastic in his praise of Bodmer's portfolio. The unexpected virtuosity of this relatively unknown painter took Maximilian~and possibly Bodmer himself-by surprise. Bodmer had exhibited a burst of creative genius during his brief encounter with America, converting accurate documentation into something more vital. 4. There was one early exception. In 1953 Bodmer's original portfolio was made available for the first time. The Smithsonian Institution arranged to exhibit 118 of the watercolors and pencil sketches at various museums across the United States. One of the locations chosen for this traveling exhibition was the Science Museum in St. Paul, Minnesota. Elden Johnson, then curator of anthropology for the museum, noticed that many of the sketches had handwritten notations by Bodmer, identifying the subject, date, and location at which the drawings were made. Johnson saw an opportunity for verifying the documentary accuracy of the aquatints by comparing the prints and the source materials. He examined thirty-three of the aquatints, identifying the elements he had found references for in the 118 original drawings available to him in the exhibition. In twenty-five of the aquatints he found the information in the watercolors and sketches had been altered to varying degrees. Most of his unpublished work was later lost, but brief comparisons of two of the most important composite tableaus, Tableau 27. Scalp Dance of the Minataries and Tableau 43. Encampment of the Piekann Indians, were published in the museum's newsletter, Indian Leaflets 8-9-10 (Science Museum, St. Paul, Minnesota, May, 1955). |