!["The interior of the hut of a Mandan chief". Illustration by Karl Bodmer from the publication Travels in the Interior of North America, around 1841.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/das-innere-der-hutte-eines-mandan-hauptlings-bodmer-300x225.jpg)
Karl Bodmer and the Native Americans
Karl Bodmer (1809-1893) was a Swiss artist best known for his participation in Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied's Missouri River Expedition (1832-1834) and his arresting paintings and portraits of Native Americans. The illustrations by Bodmer are an invaluable 19th-century ethnographic record of Native American life and tradition before mass settlement.
![At the age of 21, Karl Bodmer painted this oil painting Die feindlichen Brüder bei Bornhofen am Rhein mit Kloster und Dorfansicht, around 1830.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/die-feindlichen-bruder-bei-bornhofen-am-rhein-mit-kloster-und-dorfansicht-300x216.jpg)
![Karl Bodmer around 1877.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/karl-bodmer-225x300.jpg)
![Prinz Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied, around 1820.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/maximilian-zu-wied-neuwied-1-225x300.jpg)
Missouri River Expedition of 1832 – 1834
![Dog Sledges at Fort Clark. Drawing by Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied, 1833.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/hundeschlitten-bei-fort-clark-zeichnung-von-maximilian-zu-wied-neuwied-1833-300x187.jpg)
!["Dog sledges of the Mandan Indians". Illustration by Karl Bodmer from the publication Travels in the Interior of North America, around 1841.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/hundeschlitten-der-mandan-indianer-300x190.jpg)
!["Boston Lighthouse". Illustration by Karl Bodmer from the publication Travels in the Interior of North America, around 1841.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/leuchturme-von-boston-karl-bodmer-300x176.jpg)
Here in Europe, I have acquaintances; in America, I had friends.
![Map of the route of the expedition of Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied and Karl Bodmer. From the publication Travels in the Interior of North America, around 1841.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/karte-der-route-der-expedition-von-maximilian-zu-wied-neuwied-und-karl-bodmer-300x152.jpg)
!["Winter village oft he Minatarres". The Minnataree are a sub-tribe of the Sioux. Illustration by Karl Bodmer from the publication Travels in the Interior of North America, around 1841.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/winterdorf-der-monnitarris-300x240.jpg)
Later Years & Artistic Legacy
!["Forest scene on the Lehigh (Pennsylvania)". The Lehigh River is a branch of the Delaware in eastern Pennsylvania. Illustration by Karl Bodmer from the publication Travels in the Interior of North America, around 1841.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/wald-ansicht-am-lecha-bodmer-300x208.jpg)
These images have the sharpness and selectivity of medical drawings that capture anatomical or surgical conditions: Here the pencil enables clarity, emphasis and separation of parts and levels that the camera lens is unable to achieve.
!["Mandeh-Pahchu. A young Mandan Indian". Illustration by Karl Bodmer from the publication Travels in the Interior of North America, around 1841.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/mandeh-pahchu-bodmer-300x225.jpg)
!["Indian utensils and arms". Illustration by Karl Bodmer from the publication Travels in the Interior of North America, around 1841.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/indianische-geratschaften-und-waffen-bodmer-300x225.jpg)
Bodmer's illustrations can be found in many cultural institutions, including the North American Native Museum NONAM in Zurich, Switzerland, The Whitney Gallery of Western Art in Cody, Wyoming (USA), the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska (USA), the Newberry Library of Chicago (USA), and the German Leather Museum in Offenbach, Germany.
Video on an exhibition on Karl Bodmer at the MET. Metropolitain Museum of Art / YouTube