Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California 1865

Albert Bierstadt painted "Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California" with oil on canvas sometime in the 19th Century. This was a period when American artists and the American government were interested in expanding westward. This painting is not just a depiction of a beautiful place; it’s a statement about America's relationship with its land. Notice how Bierstadt uses light to create a sense of awe and wonder. The golden sunlight seems to bless the landscape, suggesting divine approval of American expansion. But who exactly gets to claim and control that landscape? The painting was made during a time of conflict with Native Americans, whose presence is conspicuously absent here. Yosemite would become a national park in 1890, another way of controlling and shaping the land. To truly understand this work, historians might consult government documents, travel journals, and other artworks from the period. In doing so, we discover the role of art in shaping our understanding of nature and our place within it.