José María Tranquilino Francisco de Jesús Velasco Gómez Obregón, generally known as José María Velasco, ( Temascalcingo, 6 July 1840 Estado de México, 26 August 1912) was a 19th-century Mexican

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

, most famous as a painter who made Mexican geography a symbol of national identity through his paintings. He was both one of the most popular artists of the time and internationally renowned. He received many distinctions such as the gold medal of the Mexican National Expositions of Bellas Artes in 1874 and 1876; the gold medal of the Philadelphia International Exposition in 1876, on the centenary of U.S. independence; and the medal of the Paris

Universal Exposition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

in 1889, on the centenary of the outbreak of the French Revolution. His painting ''El valle de México'' is considered Velasco's masterpiece, of which he created seven different renditions. Of all the nineteenth-century painters, Velasco was the "first to be elevated in the post-Revolutionary period as an exemplar of nationalism."

Career

Velasco studied art at the Academy of San Carlos under the professor of landscape, Italian Eugenio Landesio, who began teaching at the academy in 1855. Landesio raised landscape painting in Mexico to high art, and articulated theories of composition that he implemented in his landscapes. Velasco is his most famous pupil, who following his mentor's departure in 1877, dominated Mexican landscape painting and gained an international reputation, whose works became part of collections in the U.S. Velasco's production can be classified into three periods: The academic years, from 1860 to 1889, that include ''La Plaza de San Jacinto en San Ángel'', ''Las montañas de la Magadalena'', ''La Alameda de México'', ''El bosque de Jalapa'', ''El Cedro de Chimalistac'' and ''El Ahuehuete de Chapultepec''. The period from 1890 to 1892, when he was in touch with French Impressionists, that includes ''Valle de Mexico desde el cerro de Atraeualco'' and ''Ajusco visto desde el Tepeyac''. Finally, a personal period from 1892 to 1912, ''Rocas del cerro de Atzacoalco'', ''Pirámide del Sol en Teotihuacán'', ''Popocatepetl'', ''Ixtlaciual'', ''Templo de San Bernardo'', ''Cascada de Necaxa'' and ''El Puente de Metlac''. Velasco served as a Commissioner for Fine Arts for the Mexican delegation to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where he exhibited seventeen of his own oil paintings. Velasco was interested in science, and, as a student at the Academy of San Carlos studied zoology and botany at the nearby medical school; he also studied mathematics, geology, and surveying before becoming a student of painting. In 1879, he described a new species of '' Ambystoma'' found in the Santa Isabel lake, north of Mexico City, and published his observations in the Mexican scientific journal ''La Naturaleza'' (La Naturaleza 4: 216). The new species was named by Velasco ''Siredon Tigrina''. In 1888

Alfredo Dugès Alfredo Dugès (born Alfred Auguste Delsescautz Dugès; 16 April 1826 – 7 January 1910) was a French-born, Mexican physician and naturalist born in Montpellier. He was the son of zoologist Antoine Louis Dugès (1797–1838). Alfredo Dugès is la ...

(1826–1910) renamed the species and dedicated it to Velasco as '' Ambystoma velasci'' (see also Plateau Tiger Salamander). In 1997, botanists Calderón & Rzed. published '' Velascoa'', which is a

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s from north-eastern Mexico belonging to the family Crossosomataceae. It also was named in José María Velasco Gómez's honour.

Legacy

Velasco's long career elevated Mexican landscape painting to international standing. One of his landscapes of the Valley of Mexico is in the Vatican Museum, a gift to Pope Leo XIII.James Oles, ''Mexican Art and Architecture''. London: Thames & Hudson 2013, p. 186. His scenes of the Mexican landscape are a visual source for environmental historians, since they show the Valley of Mexico before its degradation in the twentieth century, with air pollution and urban sprawl. His landscape art has a wide appeal, since it is more accessible than history paintings that require the viewer to understand a particular event. Today the Government of the

State of Mexico The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

, where Velasco was from, presents an award for artistic merit in his name to painters born in that state. Among the most outstanding winners are Luis Nishizawa, Leopoldo Flores, Ignacio Barrios and Héctor Cruz. The José María Velasco Museum was opened in 1992 in

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

with the task of preserving and promoting his paintings.

Gallery

Jose ma velasco vibora (cropped).jpg, Study of a

viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

File:Jose_ma_velasco_estudio_de_pensamientos.jpg, Study of pansies File:Study of Axolotl by Velasco 1879.jpg, Study of

Axolotl The axolotl (; from ) (''Ambystoma mexicanum'') is a neoteny, paedomorphic salamander, one that Sexual maturity, matures without undergoing metamorphosis into the terrestrial adult form; adults remain Aquatic animal, fully aquatic with obvio ...

, 1879 The Valley of Mexico'', 1877"> File:Study of Harpy Eagle for The Valley of Mexico from the Hill of Santa Isabel by Velasco 1877.jpg, Study of

harpy eagle The harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja'') is a large Neotropical realm, neotropical species of eagle. It is also called the American harpy eagle to distinguish it from the Papuan eagle, which is sometimes known as the New Guinea Harpy Eagle, New Guin ...

for the painting File:Detail of Harpy Eagle in The Valley of Mexico from the Hill of Santa Isabel by Velasco 1877.jpg, Detail of harpy eagle in the painting File:Detail of Nopal Prickly Pear cactus in The Valley of Mexico from the Hill of Santa Isabel by Velasco 1877.jpg, Detail of ''Nopal'' prickly pear cactus in the painting File:Velasco Valle de Mexico 1877.gif, The finished painting File:Velasco's signature in The Valley of Mexico from the Hill of Santa Isabel by Velasco 1877.jpg, Velasco's signature on a rock in the painting File:Jose_ma_velasco_exconvento.jpg, Courtyard of the former convent of San Agustín File:Jose_ma_velasco_felipe_sojo.jpg, The sculptor Felipe Sojo File:Jose_ma_velasco_padre_eterno.jpg, God the Father File:Ahuehuete-noche-triste.jpg, Ahuehuete of La Noche Triste File:Velasco Ferrocarril.jpg, Ferrocarril File:Cardon cactus by Velasco 1887.jpg, ''Cardon'' cactus, 1887 File:Detail of Cardon cactus by Velasco 1887.jpg, Detail in painting of ''Cardon'' cactus File:SantaIsabelVelascoDF.JPG, Valley of Mexico from Santa Isabel hill File:Jose_ma_velasco_barranca_del_muerto_1909.jpg, Barranca del Muerto, 1909 File:Jose_ma_velasco_calvario_1909.jpg,

Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

, 1909 File:Eruption by Velasco 1910.jpg, Eruption, 1910 File:The Great Comet of 1882 by Velasco 1910.jpg, The Great Comet of 1882, painted 1910

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velasco Gomez, Jose Maria Mexican landscape painters Mexican portrait painters 1840 births 1912 deaths People from Temascalcingo 19th-century Mexican painters Mexican male painters 20th-century Mexican painters 19th-century Mexican male artists 20th-century Mexican male artists

Career

Legacy

Gallery

Further reading

References