March 2008
Mexico: Promise and Possibility, 1829-1834
Voyage tells the story of Nebel’s experience as a European traveling through the central regions of Mexico, including Zacatecas, Veracruz, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Puebla, and Guerrero. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, the artist viewed his album as an opportunity to inform a European audience of the diverse natural and social landscapes of Mexico. Though Nebel's images were highly romanticized (as seen in Women of Puebla), the artist steered away from the portrayal of Mexicans as savages typical of 19th century European art. As a result, this album came to be viewed by many Mexican people of the time as a work that favorably depicted their culture, and images from some of Nebel’s lithographs—such as the peasant couple seated in the background of The Mantilla—would come to be extensively reproduced in local newspapers and political material.

Carl Nebel
draftsman
German 1805–1855
Women of Puebla
from Voyage pittoresque et archéologique dans la partie la plus intéressante du Méxique
Lithograph by Émile Lassalle, 1836
Gift of Mrs. E. A. Fairchild, 1941.6.b
Last Updated: 5/12/2015