A Glória, Rio de Janeiro

Unpublished and unseen in public since exhibitions in Germany after the artist's return from Brazil and the United States in 1845 and prior to his travels around the world (1862-1864), the present picture is one of the artist's masterpieces inspired by his brief sojourn in Brazil between March and October 1844. The subject is familiar from the more well-known watercolour of the same view ('A Glória. Rio de Janeiro. April 1844', for which see G. Ferrez, O Brasil de Eduard Hildebrandt, Rio de Janeiro, 1988, cat. no. 38, illustrated p.59) painted on the spot. The watercolour was presumably the model for the present picture, although Hildebrandt typically dramatises the exhibition picture, with a sunset and variations in the figures in the foreground, now grouped around a fire: 'Später führte er unter Vorlage seiner südamerikanischen Skizzen Gemälde aus, wobei er der Lichtwirkung in der Natur grosse Aufmerksamkeit schenkte. Er gab Mondschein, Sonnenauf- und -untergang bei Rio de Janeiro wieder, einen "tropischen Sonnenuntergang mit Spiegelung im Wasser" sowie "Rio de Janeiro in blendendem Sonnenlicht"... Hildebrandts Neigung zu Lichteffekten, Kontrasten und zur Auflösung der Form in der künstlerischen Darstellung verweisen auf Isabey, von dem er auch die Technik der Aquarellmalerei übernommen hat. So steht in seinem Werk ganz in fransösicher Tradition.' (R. Löschner, Deutsche Künstler in Lateinamerika, Berlin, 1978, p.38.)

Encouraged by Humboldt and sponsored by the Prussian King Frederick William IV, Hildebrandt travelled to South America in 1844, commissioned to paint souvenirs of Prince Adalbert's recent visit to Brazil. The artist was in Brazil between March and October 1844 before leaving for North America on the return journey to Europe. In Brazil he was based in Rio de Janeiro and made excursions to Sao Paulo and Bahia.
His Brazilian sketchbooks are in the collection of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Kupferstichkabinett) and a selection of these sheets form the centrepiece of the exhibition currently touring Germany (Bilder aus Brasilien in 19. Jahrhundert. Im Blick von Alexander von Humboldt (IAI, PK), Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preussischer Kulturbesitz, April-May 2001, Schloss Cappenberg, Oct.-Dec. 2001, Kreismuseum Neuwied, Jan.-Feb. 2002).