Landscapes of Life

Velasco, José María, The Valley of Mexico from the Low Ridge of Tacubaya (1894)

José María Velasco was a 19th century Mexican painter known for his love of nature and landscapes. He trained with the Italian artist Eugenio Landesio, but moved from painting an "ideal nature" to a more natural effect.

While observing Velasco's landscapes, I started to think about what scenes I would want to preserve. I tried to imagine not having the luxury of modern photography to capture images. There is one scene I know I would never want to forget: 

View of Mt. Rainier from Enumclaw, WA

This landscape is beautiful, but to me, it is more than that. It is the memory of driving home from school and turning the corner where it first comes into view. It is the memory of daydreaming on my trampoline while gazing at the mountain. From nearly everywhere in my hometown, Mt. Rainier is visible and glorious. I associate this mountain with all my experiences under its shadow. What did Velasco experience under the mountains of Mexico that made that scenery so significant to him? Was it just its beauty that attracted him? If so, he would likely have looked for beautiful scenes in Europe and other countries. Indeed, Velasco traveled to Europe and tried painting with the Impressionistic technique, but on returning to Mexico, he returned again to the natural themes portraying the landscape of his homeland. When emotions are tied up in the subject matter, the artist is more passionate and paints with purpose.

Our book relates his paintings to nationalistic attempts to "[strengthen] the idea of Mexico as a nation." But I believe that Mexico already was a nation to Velasco. It was his nation. I believe his painting was more than an attempt to create a Mexican identity through artwork. The more natural rendering was an attempt to preserve the image of the Mexican identity that already existed in the landscape of daily life.