The artwork titled “Valle de México desde el cerro de Santa Isabel” was painted by José María Velasco in the year 1884. This piece belongs to the Realism art movement and falls under the genre of landscape.
In this evocative landscape, the viewer is offered a sweeping vista of the Valley of Mexico as seen from the hill of Santa Isabel. The composition showcases a skillful interplay between light and shadow, which highlights the varied terrain of the valley. The foreground is filled with lush greenery, intersected by reddish rock formations that hint at the ruggedness of the terrain. As the eye travels farther, the expanse of the valley opens up, revealing subtle details of the rivers and lakes that lie beyond the immediate hillside. The sky, painted with a myriad of soft blue and white hues, provides a serene backdrop to the grandeur below. The presence of people in traditional attire in the foreground offers a human touch to a scene dominated by nature’s magnificence, grounding the composition in time and culture.
