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A generation after Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery journey, an unlikely trio launched an expedition no less remarkable for its art, now on display at the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
"Travels in the Interior of North America: The Maximilian-Bodmer Expedition" has the accoutrements to awaken the adventurer-explorer in all of us. The show, which runs through New Year’s Eve, matches up the art produced from that expedition with artifacts of the Native American tribes the group set out to study.
The imagination jump-starts upon hearing the list of the tribes encountered: Omaha, Sioux, Assiniboin, Blackfoot, Mandan and Hidatsa. The official dates of the expedition were from 1832 to 1834 and produced both scientific and artistic successes. The cast of characters included a man-servant who just happened to be a crack shot and a skilled taxidermist; a nobleman from a Prussian principality who also was a world-famous naturalist; and an artist, taught by his uncle, who, in 1892, Frederick Remington acknowledged as being far superior to "modern" artists who depicted the West from imagination rather than direct experience.
The expedition leader was Prince Philipp Maximilian, ruler of the small state of Neuwied, Prussia, which is now part of Germany. Maximilian was no dilettante, but a trained naturalist, ethnographer and explorer. He trained under Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, known as the father of physical anthropology. Maximilian, eager to study natural history in the field, took his first trip to Brazil in 1815, staying until 1817. His published notes, with observations on the flora, fauna and people, made his reputation.
His man-servant was David Dreidoppel – in NBA lingo that would be "triple double" – and he was as he was a crack shot, skilled hunter and trained taxidermist. The last was vital on early 19th century natural history expeditions since scientific drawings and illustration were not done from life, but from stuffed and mounted specimens.
Maximilian recruited the third member in Karl Bodmer. Born in Zurich, Bodmer was an apprentice for his uncle, a local engraver and watercolorist. While along the Rhine in Germany doing illustrations for a travel book, Bodmer met Maximilian. The prince swiftly recruited Bodmer and the two-year partnership was sealed.
Maximilian certainly knew of the Lewis and Clark expedition and roughly followed their path – first to Philadelphia for supplies, then to St. Louis to begin the trip up the Mississippi to the Missouri and then north and west. The trio even met and conferred with William Clark, who was retired, in St. Louis. While respecting the importance of the Lewis and Clark expedition, Maximilian’s purpose was to provide descriptions of the natural scenery and explore the culture of the indigenous tribes. These items, he felt, were neglected by the government. He may have been right as the Lewis and Clark trip could be perceived as being more political than scientific. Maximilian was heading the first exploration with a trained scientist and a skilled illustrator.
How skilled is evident in the Penn Museum’s exhibit. The work has the obvious look of sophisticated European training, but its authenticity is clear in comparison to the real thing. One example is an engraving of leggings worn by a Native American dancer and an actual pair from the museum’s collection.
Bodmer supervised more than two dozen engravers who made 81 plates based on the source sketches, drawings and watercolors made during the trip. Audiences in the mid-1800s loved the exotic and any number of editions were created. The 41 included in this show were struck from the original plates overseen by Bodmer. They were printed on a flat bed press and then hand colored to match the 19th-century prints and watercolors.
The portraits are particularly impressive even if they seem a bit polished and refined for a depiction of life in the newly explored West. The current popular view of Western art is somewhat limited to a painterly realistic view of idealized cowboy life. The engraved print has a delicacy about it that manages to suggest a reverence for its subject. Bodmer obviously enjoyed his work and his subjects. He created some 400 watercolors, many of which were used in illustrating the expedition’s publications and many more of which were sold.
"Travels in the Interior of North America: The Maximilian-Bodmer Expedition"
Through Dec. 31
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
3260 South St.
215-898-4000
www.museum.upenn.edu
Admission: Adults, $8; seniors and students $5; children under 6, free
