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Lot Essay
For decades, Albert Bierstadt’s paintings of the West have transported the viewer to distant lands, capturing the unique natural wonders of the American West. As early as 1859, Bierstadt set out for the distant plains and mountains in less explored reaches of America. In 1863, he ventured across the entire nation, reaching Yosemite and San Francisco before traveling north into Oregon with the prominent writer Fitz Hugh Ludlow. Mirror Lake (Yosemite Valley, Sunset) recalls a tranquil moment on their journey together through California’s famed Yosemite Valley. Described by Ludlow as “my artist comrade, always the most indefatigable explorer of every party we were in together,” Bierstadt’s adventuring spirit is palpably instilled in his best paintings inspired by the trip. (The Heart of the Continent, New York, 1871, p. 476) Indeed, the present work not only delights in the awesome landscape at the core of Yosemite, but with the painter including himself as the standing figure at left, also provides insight into the essence of Bierstadt as an artist-explorer.
Mirror Lake (Yosemite Valley, Sunset) stands out among Bierstadt’s acclaimed depictions of Yosemite for its brilliant hues that capture the wondrous twilight sky in the valley. The famed peaks glow red in the reflection of the setting sun, casting an array of yellows, golds, and purples across the atmosphere and adding a misty haze around the distant landforms. These fiery colors are then reflected in the pristine waters, underscoring the otherworldly beauty of the scene. Upon its exhibition in 1868 at St. Louis’s Pettes & Leathe’s gallery, an art critic lauded the present work, “It is a summer sunset, and a glory of rich light envelopes the scene, save where the trees cast a shadow. In certain directions the minutest details are worked out with that elaborate care peculiar to Bierstadt, but in others the outlines are partly lost in the vague mist, often observable of a hot summer’s day, which, like a golden, vaporous veil, half conceals and half reveals the beauties of the view.” (“Fine Art,” The St. Louis Republic, September 27, 1868, p. 1)
In the foreground of this glorious landscape, Bierstadt emphasizes the scale of the vista with his party of horseback figures, diminutive in comparison with the mountainous beauty surrounding them. The figures themselves seem to be taking a moment to appreciate the majesty of this newly discovered site. The contemporary St. Louis Republic review continues, “The subject is, we are informed, ‘Mirror Lake,’ situated somewhere amid those grand mountainous solitudes through which the earnest soul of Bierstadt has loved to roam, and the reproduction of scenes from which he has built the fabric of his fame…In the foreground, to the right, are the figures of three horsemen, who are watering their horses at the lake, and another who has satisfied the thirst of his steed and has returned to the shore. He stands beside his horse holding the rein. The other three are still a few steps advanced in the water, and their horses are yet drinking. The human forms are full of animation and interest. The men talk together, and one points to the other side of the lake where the shade of the foliage is deep. According to the story attached to the picture the dismounted horseman is Bierstadt himself. It was during this brief visit to Mirror Lake, that, stuck by the beautiful of the scene, he made the sketch which he subsequently elaborated into this picture….” (“Fine Art,” p. 1)
Despite the title cited in this period review, the present work possibly depicts a view further west of Mirror Lake, looking down Yosemite Valley, with Sentinel Rock looming large at left and Cathedral Rocks at Center. If indeed the case, this painting shares a view and compositional design akin to some of Bierstadt’s most famous paintings, including Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California (1865, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama), Yosemite Valley (1868, Oakland Museum of California), Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point Trail (c. 1873, Yale University Art Gallery), and Valley of the Yosemite (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).
Executed with meticulous detail and brilliant color, this gem of a painting epitomizes the unique ability Bierstadt possessed in capturing the essence of the West and its wonders for audiences back home in the East. Just as the work astounded audiences of his day, including the St. Louis reporter who dedicated a full column to praise for this painting, Mirror Lake (Yosemite Valley, Sunset) continues to this day to inspire audiences to celebrate alongside Bierstadt the beauty that is the Western American landscape.
Mirror Lake (Yosemite Valley, Sunset) stands out among Bierstadt’s acclaimed depictions of Yosemite for its brilliant hues that capture the wondrous twilight sky in the valley. The famed peaks glow red in the reflection of the setting sun, casting an array of yellows, golds, and purples across the atmosphere and adding a misty haze around the distant landforms. These fiery colors are then reflected in the pristine waters, underscoring the otherworldly beauty of the scene. Upon its exhibition in 1868 at St. Louis’s Pettes & Leathe’s gallery, an art critic lauded the present work, “It is a summer sunset, and a glory of rich light envelopes the scene, save where the trees cast a shadow. In certain directions the minutest details are worked out with that elaborate care peculiar to Bierstadt, but in others the outlines are partly lost in the vague mist, often observable of a hot summer’s day, which, like a golden, vaporous veil, half conceals and half reveals the beauties of the view.” (“Fine Art,” The St. Louis Republic, September 27, 1868, p. 1)
In the foreground of this glorious landscape, Bierstadt emphasizes the scale of the vista with his party of horseback figures, diminutive in comparison with the mountainous beauty surrounding them. The figures themselves seem to be taking a moment to appreciate the majesty of this newly discovered site. The contemporary St. Louis Republic review continues, “The subject is, we are informed, ‘Mirror Lake,’ situated somewhere amid those grand mountainous solitudes through which the earnest soul of Bierstadt has loved to roam, and the reproduction of scenes from which he has built the fabric of his fame…In the foreground, to the right, are the figures of three horsemen, who are watering their horses at the lake, and another who has satisfied the thirst of his steed and has returned to the shore. He stands beside his horse holding the rein. The other three are still a few steps advanced in the water, and their horses are yet drinking. The human forms are full of animation and interest. The men talk together, and one points to the other side of the lake where the shade of the foliage is deep. According to the story attached to the picture the dismounted horseman is Bierstadt himself. It was during this brief visit to Mirror Lake, that, stuck by the beautiful of the scene, he made the sketch which he subsequently elaborated into this picture….” (“Fine Art,” p. 1)
Despite the title cited in this period review, the present work possibly depicts a view further west of Mirror Lake, looking down Yosemite Valley, with Sentinel Rock looming large at left and Cathedral Rocks at Center. If indeed the case, this painting shares a view and compositional design akin to some of Bierstadt’s most famous paintings, including Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California (1865, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama), Yosemite Valley (1868, Oakland Museum of California), Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point Trail (c. 1873, Yale University Art Gallery), and Valley of the Yosemite (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).
Executed with meticulous detail and brilliant color, this gem of a painting epitomizes the unique ability Bierstadt possessed in capturing the essence of the West and its wonders for audiences back home in the East. Just as the work astounded audiences of his day, including the St. Louis reporter who dedicated a full column to praise for this painting, Mirror Lake (Yosemite Valley, Sunset) continues to this day to inspire audiences to celebrate alongside Bierstadt the beauty that is the Western American landscape.