Bodmer's Watercolor Originals and the Aquatint

When Prince Maximilian asked Karl Bodmer to accompany him on his exploration of North America, he planned to publish Bodmer's visual observations alongside his extensive written accounts so that he could share his fascination of the remote and exotic with the world. This project, conceived and completed during the 1830s and early 1840s, when only the most primitive forms of photography had been invented, would have to be carried out through the laborious and costly process of printmaking.

With the print in mind, Bodmer's watercolors in the field were intended primarily as "notes" for the engraved copper plates that were used to make the aquatint prints in this exhibition. Bodmer, who supervised the production of the aquatints in Europe, hired twenty engravers to assist him. The aquatint process, simply by its nature, resulted in exceptional reproductions of his watercolors. The combination of aquatint, rich black contour outlines, and detailed hand-coloring result in an image that is a successful representation of the original.

Emily Martin