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George Hetzel was the
leader of a small group of Pittsburgh artists who journeyed to
Scalp Level, near Johnstown, to paint landscapes in the late 19th
century. The mountain village served as a retreat for Pittsburgh
artists who worked together painting en plein air, as did
their French contemporaries at Barbizon. Hetzel's Woodland
Scene is a detailed composition which conveys an atmosphere of
deep shadows, textures, and reflected light. It is one of a
series of his landscapes of Western Pennsylvania painted at Scalp
Level.
Born in France near
Strasbourg, Hetzel moved to Pittsburgh with his parents at an early
age. Between 1847 and 1849 the artist studied painting at the
Düsseldorf Academy, where he developed a precisely realistic style
reminiscent of the Barbizon painters of Fontainbleau. Throughout
his career, he was acclaimed both as a portrait and a landscape
artist. George Hetzel was one of three Pittsburgh artist to be
represented at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. He
also participated in the first International Exhibition at The
Carnegie Institute in 1896, where a major retrospective of his
work was presented in 1909. He is recognized as one of
Pennsylvania's most significant artists.
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