German-born American Hudson River School Painter, 1830-1902 Bierstadt was born in Solingen, Germany. His family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1833. He studied painting with the members of the D??sseldorf School in D??sseldorf, Germany from 1853 to 1857. He taught drawing and painting briefly before devoting himself to painting. Bierstadt began making paintings in New England and upstate New York. In 1859, he traveled westward in the company of a Land Surveyor for the U.S. government, returning with sketches that would result in numerous finished paintings. In 1863 he returned west again, in the company of the author Fitz Hugh Ludlow, whose wife he would later marry. He continued to visit the American West throughout his career. Though his paintings sold for princely sums, Bierstadt was not held in particularly high esteem by critics of his day. His use of uncommonly large canvases was thought to be an egotistical indulgence, as his paintings would invariably dwarf those of his contemporaries when they were displayed together. The romanticism evident in his choices of subject and in his use of light was felt to be excessive by contemporary critics. His paintings emphasized atmospheric elements like fog, clouds and mist to accentuate and complement the feel of his work. Bierstadt sometimes changed details of the landscape to inspire awe. The colors he used are also not always true. He painted what he believed is the way things should be: water is ultramarine, vegetation is lush and green, etc. The shift from foreground to background was very dramatic and there was almost no middle distance Nonetheless, his paintings remain popular. He was a prolific artist, having completed over 500 (possibly as many as 4000) paintings during his lifetime, most of which have survived. Many are scattered through museums around the United States. Prints are available commercially for many. Original paintings themselves do occasionally come up for sale, at ever increasing prices.  Related Paintings of Albert Bierstadt :. | Bridal Veil Falls. Yosemite | Sierra_Nevada_aka_From_the_Head_of_the_Carson_River, California | Boats Ashore at Sunset | Bay of Monterey, California | Moonlit Landscape |
Related Artists:
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Irish-born American Realist Sculptor, 1848-1907, He was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance." Raised in New York City, he traveled to Europe for further training and artistic study, and then returned to major critical success in the design of monuments commemorating heroes of the American Civil War, many of which still stand. In addition to his famous works such as the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common and the outstanding grand equestrian monuments to Civil War generals John A. Logan, atop a tumulus in Chicago, 1894-97
Joseph Wright
1734-1797 British Joseph Wright Gallery English painter. He painted portraits, landscapes and subjects from literature, but his most original and enduringly celebrated works are a few which reflect the philosophical and technological preoccupations of the later 18th century and are characterized by striking effects of artificial light. He was the first major English painter to work outside the capital all his life: apart from spells in Liverpool (1768-71), Italy (1773-5) and Bath (1775-7), he lived and worked in his native Derby, though exhibiting in London at both the Society of Artists (1765-76, 1791) and the Royal Academy (1778-82, 1789-90, 1794
Werner van den Valckert
Though he was born in Amsterdam, he became a member of the Guild of St. Luke in the Hague between 1600 - 1605. By 1614 he had moved to Amsterdam, because his daughter was baptized there. His earliest dated etchings are from 1612. His surviving paintings are historical allegories and portraits. He also made a prestigious schutterstuk, which features the Amsterdam burgermeester Albert Burgh. According to Houbraken, he was a student of Hendrik Goltzius. He painted a series of 4 paintings showing a doctor as angel, Christ, a man, and the devil; these were all based on engravings by Goltzius. These paintings are now in the possession of the Boerhaave Museum, which has other similar series on display.