LIVING LANDSCAPES
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Narrado por Jorge Obregón
Narrado por Jorge Obregón
The presence of plants in José María Velasco’s work is framed within a visual culture of landscape that centers on the natural world and its relationship to humanity. The painter belongs to the nineteenth-century landscape tradition that strengthened the dialogue between art and science.
Velasco studied the connections between the inorganic and the living, as well as the relationships among soils, plants, animals, and humans. Rather than serving strictly as botanical records, his drawings and notebooks convey the vitality of the landscape.
Works such as the Views from Cerro de Santa Isabel (1870s) or the Perspectives of the Basin from Tacubaya (1880s) reveal the interplay of human and natural cycles. In Volcano of Orizaba from the Hacienda de San Miguelito (1892), the abundance of individual plants prompts reflection on the distribution of flora, while Hacienda de Chimalpa (1893) shows the human imprint upon the land. Focusing on the botany of Velasco’s landscapes reveals a living, ever-changing world.
The presence of plants in José María Velasco’s work is framed within a visual culture of landscape that centers on the natural world and its relationship to humanity. The painter belongs to the nineteenth-century landscape tradition that strengthened the dialogue between art and science.
Velasco studied the connections between the inorganic and the living, as well as the relationships among soils, plants, animals, and humans. Rather than serving strictly as botanical records, his drawings and notebooks convey the vitality of the landscape.
Works such as the Views from Cerro de Santa Isabel (1870s) or the Perspectives of the Basin from Tacubaya (1880s) reveal the interplay of human and natural cycles. In Volcano of Orizaba from the Hacienda de San Miguelito (1892), the abundance of individual plants prompts reflection on the distribution of flora, while Hacienda de Chimalpa (1893) shows the human imprint upon the land. Focusing on the botany of Velasco’s landscapes reveals a living, ever-changing world.
The presence of plants in José María Velasco’s work is framed within a visual culture of landscape that centers on the natural world and its relationship to humanity. The painter belongs to the nineteenth-century landscape tradition that strengthened the dialogue between art and science.
Velasco studied the connections between the inorganic and the living, as well as the relationships among soils, plants, animals, and humans. Rather than serving strictly as botanical records, his drawings and notebooks convey the vitality of the landscape.
Works such as the Views from Cerro de Santa Isabel (1870s) or the Perspectives of the Basin from Tacubaya (1880s) reveal the interplay of human and natural cycles. In Volcano of Orizaba from the Hacienda de San Miguelito (1892), the abundance of individual plants prompts reflection on the distribution of flora, while Hacienda de Chimalpa (1893) shows the human imprint upon the land. Focusing on the botany of Velasco’s landscapes reveals a living, ever-changing world.