1860 (ca.), Emanuel Gottlieb Leutz, On the Banks of a Stream -- American University Museum (Washington)
From the museum label:
Emanuel Leutze emigrated from Germany to America with his family in 1825. He grew up in Philadelphia where, as a talented teenager, he sought training from English artist John Ruben Smith (1775-1849), who practiced his craft in both New York and Philadelphia. In 1841, Leutze, eager to enhance his artistic skills, left for Dusseldorf, Germany, to study at its renowned art academy.
In 1858 Leutze settled permanently in America and established studios in both New York and Washington. On the Banks of a Stream must have been painted when Leutze was in the nation's capital seeking the federal commission, which he received in 1861, to paint Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way for the House of Representatives. The 20 x 30-foot mural symbolized the pervasive belief among Americans in Manifest Destiny.
On the Banks of a Stream owes as much to contemporary European landscape painting as it does to American sources. This pastoral scene, which evokes a languid moment along a river typical of those in northern Virginia, provides ample evidence that Leutze's skill as a landscape painter rivaled his talent as a portrait and history painter, subjects for which he was better known.
The fifty-two-year-old Leutze was living in the nation's capital when he died of a heat stroke on July 18, 1868.
1860 (ca.), Emanuel Gottlieb Leutz, On the Banks of a Stream -- American University Museum (Washington)
From the museum label:
Emanuel Leutze emigrated from Germany to America with his family in 1825. He grew up in Philadelphia where, as a talented teenager, he sought training from English artist John Ruben Smith (1775-1849), who practiced his craft in both New York and Philadelphia. In 1841, Leutze, eager to enhance his artistic skills, left for Dusseldorf, Germany, to study at its renowned art academy.
In 1858 Leutze settled permanently in America and established studios in both New York and Washington. On the Banks of a Stream must have been painted when Leutze was in the nation's capital seeking the federal commission, which he received in 1861, to paint Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way for the House of Representatives. The 20 x 30-foot mural symbolized the pervasive belief among Americans in Manifest Destiny.
On the Banks of a Stream owes as much to contemporary European landscape painting as it does to American sources. This pastoral scene, which evokes a languid moment along a river typical of those in northern Virginia, provides ample evidence that Leutze's skill as a landscape painter rivaled his talent as a portrait and history painter, subjects for which he was better known.
The fifty-two-year-old Leutze was living in the nation's capital when he died of a heat stroke on July 18, 1868.