Strange Sandstone Formations on the Upper Missouri

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Strange Sandstone Formations on the Upper Missouri

Date

August 6, 1833

Dimensions

12 1/2 × 7 15/16 in. (31.8 × 20.2 cm)

Medium

Graphite on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.205

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

In some places, wrote Maximilian in his journal entry for August 6, "one was sure he was seeing old mountain castles. A wall, piled up quite regularly, ran along the entire mountain in a dead straight direction downwards into the valley." This description seems to fit the drawings reproduced here. An inscription on the reverse mentions that "the lower sketch is like a large military barracks." It recalls similar formations in the area known as the White Castles downriver.

References in Journal

August 6, 1833

Labels:

study , Missouri River , study, geological

Approximate Depicted Location:

Upper Missouri River