Eduard Hildebrandt

Eduard Hildebrandt (1818-1868) is one of the artists whose works we have selected for our collection of illustrated books. We have used his images for the covers of our books. They range from landscapes to scenes of street life, and panoramas seen from high points. We chose them because we consider them emblematic in the visual representation of America.
Eduard Hildebrandt served as an apprentice to his father, a house painter in Danzig. He was not yet twenty years old when he moved to Berlin, where he was guided by Wilhelm Krause, a painter specializing in maritime pieces. Several early works, such as “A Breakwater” dated 1838 and “Ships in a Breeze off Swinemünde” (1840), show that he was a careful student of nature, with innate talents oppressed by the conventions of the formal school to which Krause belonged.
An accident made him acquainted with the masterpieces of French art exhibited at the Berlin Academy, arousing his curiosity and envy. He travelled to Paris, where, around 1842, he entered Isabey’s workshop and became Lepoittevin’s companion. He soon sent home paintings that might have been taken as copies of these artists, gradually mastering the mysteries of touch and the secrets of effect in which the French of that time excelled.
After 1843, under the influence of Humboldt, Eduard Hildebrandt extended his travels, even circumnavigating the world in 1864-1865. Although his experience expanded, his ability to concentrate declined. He began to produce less in oil and more in watercolor, and his fame must rest on the sketches he made in the latter form, many of them represented by chromolithography. His fantasies in red, yellow and opal, sunrises, sunsets and moonglows, and panoramic views such as those of the Andes and the Himalayas, reveal his quality of bravery.
We have also selected images by Eduard Hildebrandt for our covers for his extraordinary ability to capture the diversity and richness of America’s landscapes and cultures, offering a window into an ever-changing and developing continent. His works reflect a spirit eager for novelty and a quick ability to capture and depict momentary changes in tone and atmosphere, making them ideal for illustrating the complexity and beauty of America in our book series.