José María Velasco (1840-1912) is considered the greatest Mexican landscape painter of the nineteenth century. In portraying his native country during decades of enormous societal change, he depicted its magnificent scenery, storied past, and rapid industrialisation, most famously in his monumental representations of the Valley of Mexico, the area surrounding modern Mexico City.

Velasco was a true polymath, and much more than a painter of the national landscape. He was also a practising botanist, naturalist, and geologist with highly developed interests in archaeology and cartography. His curiosity about the natural world profoundly shaped his work.

This book, the first monograph on Velasco to be published outside Mexico, provides a fresh appraisal of his work. Essays by scholars from the United States, Britain, and Mexico focus on his life and career, his interest in contemporary science, and his legacy for artists today.

Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press