JOHANN MORITZ RUGENDAS (1802-1858)

Painted circa 1833.

The Valley of Mexico was an integral motif throughout nineteenth century landscape paintings, and Rugendas incorporated it as the central theme into several of the works he executed during his stay in Mexico.

For the Vista del Valle de México con volcanes y lago de Texcoco , Rugendas chose a point of view between Tacubaya to the south, the Sanctuary of the Virgen de los Remedios, and the hills of Naucalpan to the north. This vantage point was also used by Rugendas in a drawing of the valley and its surrounding volcanoes, which the artist inscribed as Los Morales, September 14 1832 (Staatliche Graphische Sammlung Munich, cat. MX-D-294).

In addition, Rugendas completed a similar landscape of equal dimensions to the one discussed here, a naturalistic panorama of the valley that describes the view from the lake of Texcoco until a point just south of the volcano of Popocatepl (private collection Mexico, cat. MX-O-209), and a second painting that represents the vista from the north of the valley, which is unique for its greater baroque style (private collection, Mexico cat. MX-0-208). Both of these works are unsigned, as is the painting discussed here, which was executed from a vantage point between those of the aforementioned paintings, located behind Chapultepec and facing out from the hacienda Morales. Together these three works compose a view that shows the eastern half of the Valley of Mexico.

In his Vista del Valle de México con volcanes y lago de Texcoco, Rugendas honors the landscape tradition started by his mentor Alexander Von Humboldt in his use of well-defined brushstrokes that illustrate the topography of the valley. His personal style can be found in the dramatic play between light and shadow, for which the valley was famous, and in the accurate scientific description of the flora and fauna, which demonstrates Rugendas’ virtuosity.

Pablo Diener, 2005

This lot is sold with a photo-certificate of authenticity by Mr. Pablo Diener.