"José María Velasco's depiction of Mexico is unveiled at the National Gallery in London"
In the heart of London, the National Gallery is currently hosting a landmark exhibition titled "José María Velasco: A View of Mexico." This is the first time the gallery has dedicated a solo show to a Latin American artist, offering overseas audiences a rare opportunity to explore the richness of Velasco's work.
José María Velasco, a Mexican artist known for his landscapes, was a polymath with interests in anatomy, geology, botany, paleontology, and Mesoamerican history. His work, deeply woven into Mexico's national identity, reflects a deep reverence for nature and a growing awareness of its fragility during an era of rapid industrialization.
Born in Mexico City, Velasco studied under Italian painter Eugenio Landesio at the Academia de San Carlos. He went on to create nearly 300 works, including oil paintings, watercolors, lithographs, and miniatures. Notable among these are his landscapes, which are the focus of the current exhibition.
One of the highlights of the exhibition is "Popocatepetl and Iztaccíhuatl seen from Lake Chalco," an 1885 painting commissioned by Frantiszek Kaszka, a Czech diplomat who played a significant role in Maximilian's short-lived reign in Mexico. Kaszka, after the emperor's execution in 1867, continued to play a diplomatic role, helping to secretly rebuild ties between Austria and Mexico.
The exhibition, which runs through Aug. 17, includes 30 works, 17 of which are from the Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico City. Other loans have come from institutions including the Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) and the Museo Soumaya in Mexico, as well as the National Museum in Prague, which once owned three paintings from the exhibition, having been personal property of Kaszka.
The exhibition covers more than 50 years of Velasco's career and is organized into six thematic sections: "Landscape and Industry," "Flora," "Ruins and Archaeology," "Geological Time," "Late Works," and "The Valley of Mexico from the Hill of Santa Isabel," often considered Velasco's masterpiece.
Velasco approached art from a scientific perspective, using it to explore and understand the world around him. His art is visually stunning and technically sophisticated, with a distinctive visual architecture. His work helped define the visual identity of Mexico, and in 1943, the Mexican government declared his body of work a National Historic Monument in recognition of its enduring cultural value.
Sandra Gancz Kahan, a Mexican writer and translator based in San Miguel de Allende, wrote the article about the exhibition. Her work focuses on mental health and humanitarian aid, and she believes in the power of language to foster compassion and understanding across cultures. The exhibition, she writes, is a testament to Velasco's enduring legacy and a celebration of the beauty and complexity of Mexico.
