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ALBERT BIERSTADT (1830-1902)

ARTIST BIO INQUIRE
 
<div><font face=Calibri size=3 color=black>In 1853, a twenty-three-year-old Bierstadt commenced study at the Düsseldorf Academy, the school primarily responsible for shaping the technical precision and atmospheric depth of the preeminent American landscape painters of the second half of the 19th century. Four years later, in the company of fellow artist Sanford Robinson Gifford, he painted <em>“Capri.”</em> Inscribed with the title and dated “June 11, 1857,” it is a striking example of the young artist’s early mastery, painted just two years before his watershed campaign in 1859 in the company of Frederick W. Lander, a land surveyor for the United States government. It is a fully realized study emphasizing the precision, detailed observation, and careful glazing technique indicative of the academic tradition of gradually building up the surface. He would begin with a detailed drawing, followed by monochromatic underpainting and successive layers of thin, transparent color glazes that achieve depth and luminosity in the translucent hues of the seawater rarely matched in the annals of landscape painting. <em>“Capri”</em> is a lovely achievement that foreshadows the drama and grandeur that would define Bierstadt’s later work, illustrating how his time in Italy helped shape his approach to landscape painting.</font></div>
<div><font face=Calibri size=3 color=black>In 1853, a twenty-three-year-old Bierstadt commenced study at the Düsseldorf Academy, the school primarily responsible for shaping the technical precision and atmospheric depth of the preeminent American landscape painters of the second half of the 19th century. Four years later, in the company of fellow artist Sanford Robinson Gifford, he painted <em>“Capri.”</em> Inscribed with the title and dated “June 11, 1857,” it is a striking example of the young artist’s early mastery, painted just two years before his watershed campaign in 1859 in the company of Frederick W. Lander, a land surveyor for the United States government. It is a fully realized study emphasizing the precision, detailed observation, and careful glazing technique indicative of the academic tradition of gradually building up the surface. He would begin with a detailed drawing, followed by monochromatic underpainting and successive layers of thin, transparent color glazes that achieve depth and luminosity in the translucent hues of the seawater rarely matched in the annals of landscape painting. <em>“Capri”</em> is a lovely achievement that foreshadows the drama and grandeur that would define Bierstadt’s later work, illustrating how his time in Italy helped shape his approach to landscape painting.</font></div> <div><font face=Calibri size=3 color=black>In 1853, a twenty-three-year-old Bierstadt commenced study at the Düsseldorf Academy, the school primarily responsible for shaping the technical precision and atmospheric depth of the preeminent American landscape painters of the second half of the 19th century. Four years later, in the company of fellow artist Sanford Robinson Gifford, he painted <em>“Capri.”</em> Inscribed with the title and dated “June 11, 1857,” it is a striking example of the young artist’s early mastery, painted just two years before his watershed campaign in 1859 in the company of Frederick W. Lander, a land surveyor for the United States government. It is a fully realized study emphasizing the precision, detailed observation, and careful glazing technique indicative of the academic tradition of gradually building up the surface. He would begin with a detailed drawing, followed by monochromatic underpainting and successive layers of thin, transparent color glazes that achieve depth and luminosity in the translucent hues of the seawater rarely matched in the annals of landscape painting. <em>“Capri”</em> is a lovely achievement that foreshadows the drama and grandeur that would define Bierstadt’s later work, illustrating how his time in Italy helped shape his approach to landscape painting.</font></div> <div><font face=Calibri size=3 color=black>In 1853, a twenty-three-year-old Bierstadt commenced study at the Düsseldorf Academy, the school primarily responsible for shaping the technical precision and atmospheric depth of the preeminent American landscape painters of the second half of the 19th century. Four years later, in the company of fellow artist Sanford Robinson Gifford, he painted <em>“Capri.”</em> Inscribed with the title and dated “June 11, 1857,” it is a striking example of the young artist’s early mastery, painted just two years before his watershed campaign in 1859 in the company of Frederick W. Lander, a land surveyor for the United States government. It is a fully realized study emphasizing the precision, detailed observation, and careful glazing technique indicative of the academic tradition of gradually building up the surface. He would begin with a detailed drawing, followed by monochromatic underpainting and successive layers of thin, transparent color glazes that achieve depth and luminosity in the translucent hues of the seawater rarely matched in the annals of landscape painting. <em>“Capri”</em> is a lovely achievement that foreshadows the drama and grandeur that would define Bierstadt’s later work, illustrating how his time in Italy helped shape his approach to landscape painting.</font></div> <div><font face=Calibri size=3 color=black>In 1853, a twenty-three-year-old Bierstadt commenced study at the Düsseldorf Academy, the school primarily responsible for shaping the technical precision and atmospheric depth of the preeminent American landscape painters of the second half of the 19th century. Four years later, in the company of fellow artist Sanford Robinson Gifford, he painted <em>“Capri.”</em> Inscribed with the title and dated “June 11, 1857,” it is a striking example of the young artist’s early mastery, painted just two years before his watershed campaign in 1859 in the company of Frederick W. Lander, a land surveyor for the United States government. It is a fully realized study emphasizing the precision, detailed observation, and careful glazing technique indicative of the academic tradition of gradually building up the surface. He would begin with a detailed drawing, followed by monochromatic underpainting and successive layers of thin, transparent color glazes that achieve depth and luminosity in the translucent hues of the seawater rarely matched in the annals of landscape painting. <em>“Capri”</em> is a lovely achievement that foreshadows the drama and grandeur that would define Bierstadt’s later work, illustrating how his time in Italy helped shape his approach to landscape painting.</font></div> <div><font face=Calibri size=3 color=black>In 1853, a twenty-three-year-old Bierstadt commenced study at the Düsseldorf Academy, the school primarily responsible for shaping the technical precision and atmospheric depth of the preeminent American landscape painters of the second half of the 19th century. Four years later, in the company of fellow artist Sanford Robinson Gifford, he painted <em>“Capri.”</em> Inscribed with the title and dated “June 11, 1857,” it is a striking example of the young artist’s early mastery, painted just two years before his watershed campaign in 1859 in the company of Frederick W. Lander, a land surveyor for the United States government. It is a fully realized study emphasizing the precision, detailed observation, and careful glazing technique indicative of the academic tradition of gradually building up the surface. He would begin with a detailed drawing, followed by monochromatic underpainting and successive layers of thin, transparent color glazes that achieve depth and luminosity in the translucent hues of the seawater rarely matched in the annals of landscape painting. <em>“Capri”</em> is a lovely achievement that foreshadows the drama and grandeur that would define Bierstadt’s later work, illustrating how his time in Italy helped shape his approach to landscape painting.</font></div> <div><font face=Calibri size=3 color=black>In 1853, a twenty-three-year-old Bierstadt commenced study at the Düsseldorf Academy, the school primarily responsible for shaping the technical precision and atmospheric depth of the preeminent American landscape painters of the second half of the 19th century. Four years later, in the company of fellow artist Sanford Robinson Gifford, he painted <em>“Capri.”</em> Inscribed with the title and dated “June 11, 1857,” it is a striking example of the young artist’s early mastery, painted just two years before his watershed campaign in 1859 in the company of Frederick W. Lander, a land surveyor for the United States government. It is a fully realized study emphasizing the precision, detailed observation, and careful glazing technique indicative of the academic tradition of gradually building up the surface. He would begin with a detailed drawing, followed by monochromatic underpainting and successive layers of thin, transparent color glazes that achieve depth and luminosity in the translucent hues of the seawater rarely matched in the annals of landscape painting. <em>“Capri”</em> is a lovely achievement that foreshadows the drama and grandeur that would define Bierstadt’s later work, illustrating how his time in Italy helped shape his approach to landscape painting.</font></div> <div><font face=Calibri size=3 color=black>In 1853, a twenty-three-year-old Bierstadt commenced study at the Düsseldorf Academy, the school primarily responsible for shaping the technical precision and atmospheric depth of the preeminent American landscape painters of the second half of the 19th century. Four years later, in the company of fellow artist Sanford Robinson Gifford, he painted <em>“Capri.”</em> Inscribed with the title and dated “June 11, 1857,” it is a striking example of the young artist’s early mastery, painted just two years before his watershed campaign in 1859 in the company of Frederick W. Lander, a land surveyor for the United States government. It is a fully realized study emphasizing the precision, detailed observation, and careful glazing technique indicative of the academic tradition of gradually building up the surface. He would begin with a detailed drawing, followed by monochromatic underpainting and successive layers of thin, transparent color glazes that achieve depth and luminosity in the translucent hues of the seawater rarely matched in the annals of landscape painting. <em>“Capri”</em> is a lovely achievement that foreshadows the drama and grandeur that would define Bierstadt’s later work, illustrating how his time in Italy helped shape his approach to landscape painting.</font></div>
Capri185719 x 12 in.(46.99 x 31.43 cm) oil on paper laid down on panel
Provenance
David Dike Fine Art, Dallas, Texas
Private Collection, acquired from the above, c. late 1990s
Christie's New York, January 18, 2024, Lot 230
Private Collection, acquired from the above sale
In 1853, a twenty-three-year-old Bierstadt commenced study at the Düsseldorf Academy, the school primarily responsible for shaping the technical precision and atmospheric depth of the preeminent American landscape painters of the second half of the 19th century. Four years later, in the company of fellow artist Sanford Robinson Gifford, he painted “Capri.” Inscribed with the title and dated “June 11, 1857,” it is a striking example of the young artist’s early mastery, painted just two years before his watershed campaign in 1859 in the company of Frederick W. Lander, a land surveyor for the United States government. It is a fully realized study emphasizing the precision, detailed observation, and careful glazing technique indicative of the academic tradition of gradually building up the surface. He would begin with a detailed drawing, followed by monochromatic underpainting and successive layers of thin, transparent color glazes that achieve depth and luminosity in the translucent hues of the seawater rarely matched in the annals of landscape painting. “Capri” is a lovely achievement that foreshadows the drama and grandeur that would define Bierstadt’s later work, illustrating how his time in Italy helped shape his approach to landscape painting.
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