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 :. | Storm in the Mountains | Approaching Thunderstorm on the Hudson River | Lake Tahoe, Spearing Fish by Torchlight | Les Montagnes Rocheuses,Lander's Peak | Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite Valley |
Related Artists:
Jacob Heinrich Elbfas
Swedish, born circa 1600-1664,was a portrait painter Elbfas was educated in Strasbourg in a tradition drawing back to Renaissance portraits. He established himself in Sweden from 1622 and from 1628 in Stockholm where he became a guild master. During the period 1634-1640 he worked as a court painter for Queen Maria Eleonora. His was frequently employed by the Swedish nobility and his influence on Swedish art was considerable until a new generation of artists were invited by Queen Christina during the 1640s.
Jacob Smits
1856-1928 German Jacob Smits Gallery
Johann Heinrich Hintze
painted Berlin, Altes Museum von der Schlossfreiheit aus in 1832