Karl Bodmer was born in Switzerland and studied art there. At
the young age of 24 he was chosen by Prince Alexander Philipp
Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied 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.
The 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 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
in the vicinity of the Mandan/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.
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One, Stone walls of upper Missouri, aquatint/etching
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Two, Rock formations, upper Missouri, 1833
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Three, Rock formations, upper Missouri, 1833
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Four,First chain of Rocky Mountains, Above Ft. McKenzie, September
1833
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Five, Wahktageli, Yankton Sioux Chief, 1833
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Six, Mato-Tope (4 Bears), Chief Mandan (formal dress), April
1834
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Seven, Rock formations, upper Missouri, 1833
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Eight, Rock formations, upper Missouri, 1833
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Nine, Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kusch, Mandan Village, Winter 1833-34
