Indians Spear Fishing 1862

Albert Bierstadt, sometime in the 19th century, created this dramatic scene with oil paint on canvas. The smooth canvas texture contrasts with the illusionistic craggy rocks and misty mountains, built up with layers of pigment. Consider Bierstadt's process: he meticulously applied paint to mimic the natural world, which, ironically, is built on organic, not industrial processes. The labor is evident not just in the painting's scale, but in the artist's ability to render light and shadow, depth and atmosphere. Bierstadt appropriates the craft of landscape painting to evoke the sublime, yet this artistic tradition is inextricably tied to the social and political context of westward expansion and the displacement of indigenous peoples. He romanticizes and obscures the human labor that shaped the land. Ultimately, understanding the artistic techniques used, and the historical context in which "Indians Spear Fishing" was made, allows us to confront the complex relationship between aesthetics, labor, and colonial power.