| OCR Text |
Show 57 proof impression. 12. This development of facial features must be largely fanciful, since those of the reference sketch had been only roughly drawn. It is always possible that Bodmer etched these faces himself, in which case he could rely upon his memory of the event. More likely, it was up to Vogel to interpret the faces of this central grouping; with only the reference sketches to guide him, this may be the reason all these figures have rather generalized facial features. 13. Maximilian describes the first pole as also having, further down on the rod, a second scalp, a lynx skin, and a bunch of feathers. In both the preliminary sketch and the reference sketch, it appears that the figure immediately to the right of the wife of Itsichaika holds a short rod from which these items are suspended. 14. People of the First Man, p. 196. 15. How much the variation in the number of musicians, finally present in the completed aquatint, affects the documentary value of the prints must be left to ethnologists to decide. The tracing of the development of these figures from the preliminary drawing, followed through the reference sketches, and finally into the aquatint, tells more about Bodmer's artistic process than it does about the dance itself. 16. A rear view of the figure in full-feather headdress will reappear in the first state of this print. 17. Two other figures-one seated at the far right of the image, and another rear-view figure-will be discussed separately. In the first state of this print one other portrait figure, Awascho Dickfas, a Minnetaree, will be added. 18. Birohka. Hidatsa Man, watercolor and pencil on paper, 12-5/8" x 9-5/8", KBA #325. 19. Which process actually reproduced the primary source materials more accurately can be debated. By copying the watercolor sketches directly onto the plate, it was less likely that information would be lost; the result, however, was that the images were reproduced in reverse. To duplicate the original sketches without the reversal of the images, the etcher had to reverse the images as he drew them on the plates; the danger of losing or distorting |
