Island Lake, Wind River Range, Wyoming
1861
Bierstadt took this dramatic scene from his 1859 expedition into the American West, but don't let the realism fool you—he was a master of theatrical exaggeration. Notice how the glowing, golden light spills over the distant lake and illuminates the mist rising from the waterfall? That's classic Luminism, designed to make the wilderness look like a divine, untouched paradise. He actually combined sketches from different locations to create this 'perfect' view, selling the idea of Manifest Destiny to eager Easterners who had never seen a mountain in real life.
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