Provenance: Private collection, Nevada Painted with a visceral sense of action and drama, La Bajada Hill represents the raw power of Julius Rolshoven’s ability as a painter. Filled with vibrant color, a flurry of movement and explosive energy that pulses from the composition, the painting comes from the artist’s time in Taos, New Mexico, where he was an associate member of the Taos Society of Artists. Drawn to exotic locations around the world, Rolshoven—born in Detroit, but a student of Munich, Paris, Venice and Florence—experimented with many styles and movements, with works ranging from classical European-style portraits and Renaissance-like figures done using moody chiaroscuro to floral still lifes and domestic scenes set in interior spaces. The artist must have liked the composition of La Bajada Hill, because it’s one he repeats in Two Indians on Horseback, completed in an entirely different style and with pastels. La Bajada Hill is a mesa located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe in New Mexico. The hill, which is a mile off the highway between the two cities, was the final challenge on the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro into Santa Fe. The trail, known as the Silver Route, connected Mexico City to Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo) north of Santa Fe. “By far, the mesa’s most defining feature is at its southwest edge, where the volcanic escarpment upon which the mesa sits towers 600 feet high over the plains below,” notes the National Park Service, which has preserved the site. “Appropriately known as La Bajada (The Descent), the overlook is one of New Mexico’s most spectacular natural landmarks. It provides an awesome perspective on the great lengths—and heights—that El Camino Real travelers trod on their epic journey.”