For the first time in its history, London’s National Gallery is presenting a major exhibition dedicated to a Latin American artist. “José María Velasco: A View of Mexico” offers a rare international spotlight on one of Mexico’s most revered painters, whose work has been largely confined to collections within his homeland. Outside of Mexico, Velasco’s paintings are sparsely held—limited to a few pieces in Prague’s National Gallery and the Vatican Museum. Prior to this, the last significant international showcase of his work took place nearly five decades ago in San Antonio and Austin, Texas.
José María Velasco (1840–1912) is considered a foundational figure in Mexican art and national identity. His significance is underscored by the renaming of his birthplace—Temascalcingo, in the State of Mexico—to Temascalcingo de José María Velasco in 1945. Multiple institutions across the country, including museums and galleries in Toluca and Mexico City, are dedicated to preserving his legacy. Velasco is widely recognized for integrating Mexico’s landscapes into a nationalistic visual language, laying the groundwork for later icons such as Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.
Educated at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City, Velasco was mentored by Italian painter Eugenio Landesio, who introduced him to European Romanticism. While formally studying geology and botany, Velasco developed a distinctive ability to translate Mexico’s natural beauty onto canvas. This scientific foundation became integral to his painting style, particularly in his celebrated Valley of Mexico series.
One of the standout works in the exhibition, The Valley of Mexico from the Hill of Santa Isabel (1877), foregrounds nationalist symbolism with the inclusion of the nopal cactus and the golden eagle—both emblematic elements from the Mexican flag. Another earlier painting in the series, from 1875, demonstrates Velasco’s command of geological detail and perspective. His brushwork, at once meticulous and expressive, reflects a synthesis of scientific observation and artistic spontaneity.
Velasco’s engagement with Mexico’s transformation during the Porfiriato—the authoritarian regime of General Porfirio Díaz beginning in 1876—is also evident in his work. Paintings such as The Goatherd of San Ángel (1861 and 1863) and The Textile Mill of La Carolina, Puebla (1887) depict the encroachment of industrialization on the rural landscape. In these works, factories rise beside dammed rivers and lush vegetation, capturing the tension between tradition and progress.
The artist also explored Mexico’s pre-Columbian heritage. In The Baths of King Nezahualcóyotl, Velasco depicted a segment of the Aztec botanical gardens at Texcotzingo, using rock formations to contrast natural and human-made structures. His fascination with ancient civilizations is further expressed in The Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacán and The Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon (both 1878), which offer differing vantage points on the iconic archaeological site.
Velasco’s interest in botany is prominently featured in several works, including A Rustic Bridge in San Ángel (1862), where a gnarled tree takes visual precedence over the wooden bridge it supports. Cardón, State of Oaxaca (1887) offers a monumental portrayal of a cactus, with a human figure included for scale. Meanwhile, The Forest of Pacho (1875) and an unfinished study of Mafaffa Leaves reveal a more intimate, almost tender approach to plant life.
In the final years of his life, Velasco’s style shifted toward a looser, more expressive technique. Eruption (1910), painted in oil on a postcard, bears the hallmarks of early Expressionism with its energetic, smudged aesthetic. Created the same year the Mexican Revolution began, the painting reflects a broader cultural and political upheaval. Another postcard work, Study of Clouds, was reportedly still on his easel the morning of his death in 1912.
“José María Velasco: A View of Mexico” is both a testament to the artist’s technical mastery and a reflection of his enduring impact on Mexican national identity. While his paintings are ubiquitous in Mexico—often reproduced on everyday items such as mugs and placemats—the exhibition contextualizes his significance within the broader narrative of global art history. It also demonstrates how landscape painting, when imbued with purpose and passion, can transcend aesthetic conventions.
The exhibition runs at the National Gallery in London through August 17, 2025. It will then travel to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where it will be on display from September 2025 through January 2026.
