Bodmer, Karl | His most iconic image, and perhaps the greatest image to emerge from the picturing of the American West

Bodmer, Karl

Péhriska-Rúhpa. Moennitarri Warrior in the Costume of the Dog Danse. [Tab. 23]. [Leipzig: Schmidt and Guenther, 1922]

Hand-colored aquatint engraving by René Rollet after Bodmer (plate size: 525 x 368 mm; sheet size: 648 x 498 mm); faintly toned, with one or two small marginal stains. Framed; not examined out of frame.

Bodmer’s most iconic image, and perhaps the greatest image to emerge from the picturing of the American West.

This highly-charged portrait of Péhriska-Rúhpa ("Two Ravens"), Bodmer’s greatest masterpiece, encapsulates the vanished culture of the indigenous tribes of the Plains. The striking portrait depicts the warrior and chief of the Hidatsa tribe dancing in his regalia as a leader of the Dog Society in his village. 

The Dog Society—recorded in detail by Prince Maximilian during his expedition with Bodmer—was an essential tenet of Mandan and Hidatsa culture. The fourth in a series of seven successive societies, through which "the foolish dogs" at about ten to fifteen years of age graduated until joining the society of the black-tailed deer for men over fifty, the Dog Society prescribed its own rules, rituals, dances, and regalia for members. The present portrait, painted in March 1834 as Bodmer neared the end of his stay, captures the significance of the society to the culture of the Plains tribes.

The present portrait is from the scarce Leipzig edition, printed from the original copper-plates. Limited in number, the prints from the Leipzig edition are more scarce than, and compare favorably to, the first edition (Hunt).

REFERENCES

David C. Hunt, "Karl Bodmer and the American Frontier," Imprint/Spring 1985, p.18; Cf. Graff 4648; cf. Howes M443a; cf. Pilling 2521; cf. Sabin 47014; cf. Wagner-Camp 76:1