A Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Rosalie 

What is a ‘Great Picture’? The term refers to an art craze in the United States in the nineteenth century. Great Pictures were vast and theatrical landscape paintings which captured the monumental atmosphere of the American wilderness. They were often displayed in paid exhibitions which used dramatic lighting to create an immersive experience. This oil painting by the German-American artist Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) is a prime example of the Great Picture trend. It depicts a view across a mountainous landscape, complete with a moody sky and grey lake. The showmanship and exaggerated drama really remind me of a big budget action film! Bierstadt used a wet-to-wet technique to create this work. This means he did not wait for the oils to dry before adding new layers. The scale of this painting, at 210.8 x 361.3 centimetres, adds to its breathtaking and impressive aura. How do you feel looking at it? Are you intimidated or inspired? Does it make you feel small, or empowered? The work, now displayed in Brooklyn Museum, is titled ‘A Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Rosalie’. It does not depict a specific view, but rather Bierstadt has employed artistic license by combining multiple landscapes from the American West. The painting captures the idea of ‘Manifest Destiny’, encouraging Americans to conquer the western wilderness. In 1863, Bierstadt climbed this mountain and renamed it Mount Rosalie. He claimed to be the first person to reach the peak… yet it had previously been summitted by countless Indigenous people. This painting conceals an uncomfortable reality about the unfair treatment of Indigenous tribes. By advertising the American west as an unclaimed and untouched landscape, Bierstadt points towards ownership and domination over the natural land. In 2023, the mountain in this painting was renamed ‘Mount Blue Sky’ in honour of the Indigenous Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes.