A Turtle

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

A Turtle

Date

August 4, 1832

Dimensions

8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)

Medium

Watercolor on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.340

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

Maximilian returned to Philadelphia on July 28 and two days later set out in the direction of Bethlehem as far as the town of Freiburg. On August 1 he was joined at Freiburg by Bodmer, Dreidoppel, and Saynisch. The next day the company returned to Bethlehem and occupied the better part of the next two weeks exploring the Lehigh River and collecting specimens of aquatic life. Maximilian noted in his journal that during the afternoon of August 4, Bodmer observed large numbers of turtles on an island where he was sketching. He managed to catch several of these, including a so-called duck eater (Emys odorata) and a painted turtle (Emys picta). Bodmer's watercolor of the latter exhibits a keen eye for detail and an obvious skill in the handling of his medium.

References in Journal

Joslyn Art Museum

Labels:

zoological study

Approximate Depicted Location:

Lehigh River near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania