Karl Bodmer
(1809-1893)
| Karl
Bodmer was born in Switzerland and studied art there. At the young age of
24 he was chosen by Prince Alexander Phillip Maximilian to
accompany him on a trip to the New World. Maximilian wanted someone to do
landscapes and portraits. Although Bodmer was trained in the former, he had
little experience with the latter. He picked up those skills with daily practice
while he was in the American West.
Maximilian was no stranger in the New World. He had visited South American in
1815-16 and had studied the Indians of Brazil. The purpose of this trip was
to study the native inhabitants of America. They arrived in the United States(Boston),
July 4th, 1832 and made visits to New York, Philadelphia and New Harmony.
These visits brought both Maximilian and Bodmer in contact with the major
naturalists of the new republic.While
in New Harmony Bodmer had a chance to travel to New Orleans and
in the countryside surrounding New
Harmony. |
| Bodmer and Maximilian left St. Louis for the Rockies in
1833 with hopes of traversing the Rocky Mountains. They left aboard the
steamboat,
Yellowstone, with the same destinations George Catlin had the
previous year in
his western travels. They visited a number of forts and villages
and arrived at their most western point, Fort MacKenzie, in August.
A raid
on the fort and other possibilities of Indian problems convinced
them to return down river rather than to go to the coast. They
over-wintered at Fort Clark (See Mandan Village)in the vicinity of the Mandan (See Mandan Village) and Hidatsa villages
where Bodmer had
a further
chance to paint portraits and experience the communal life of native
Americans. They headed back to St. Louis the following spring,
arriving there May 27, 1834.
Bodmer never returned to the American West. Upon return to Europe he associated
himself with a group of Parisian artists that later became known
as the
Barbizon group. He spent the remainder of his life associated with
that group. The eighty-one images he painted of the Indians and
the western territory in the short time period of his visit provide
us today with source materials for an understanding of that part of
our heritage. |
Missouri Indians by Karl
Bodmer Bodmer
Limited Editions : $ 110.00
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