An enormous cactus dots the landscape in this painting by the Mexican artist José María Velasco.
José María Velasco, The Candelabrum, 1887, oil on canvas, 61 x 45 cm (Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City); a conversation between Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank and Dr. Beth Harris
Velasco was the most important landscape painter of 19th-century Mexico.
Important terms:
- lanscape painting
- national identity
- Mexico
Additional resources:
Learn more about 19th-century landscape painting in Latin America
Watch a video about Velasco’s The Valley of Mexico from the Santa Isabel Mountain Range
Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:
