Detailed
bird's-eye view of what was known as Orizava (now called Orizaba ),
a Mexican city in a sunlit valley, a mountain range rising in the distance
through low-lying clouds. The view is bisected by a wide thoroughfare;
on either side are churches, terracotta roofs and palm trees. In the
upper right rises the snow-capped Pico de Orizaba (Citlaltépetl),
the third highest peak in North America and the tallest in Mexico.
Casimiro
Castro was a Mexican lithographer, draftsman and painter, considered
one of the great Mexican lithographers and landscape artists of the
19th century. Early in his career he trained with a lithographer, painter
and stage designer, and lithographed other artists' work. He made the
drawings and, with the assistance of J. Campilo and others, about 30
lithographs for the album México y sus alrededores
(1855-56), published by Decaen, of which he became director in 1880.
He produced depictions of other towns, including Orizaba, Jalapa and
Puebla, as well as the fine color lithograph illustrations for the Album
del ferrocarril mexicano [Album of the Mexican Railroad]
(Debray, 1877), which celebrated the landscape of Mexico as
the country was being transformed by the advent of train transportation.
Castro's works hold both historic and artistic value in Mexico today,
and are in the collections of Mexican museums. The versatile artist
also created designs for facades and shop interiors, posters, landscapes
and even fashion designs.
Condition:
Generally very good with the usual light overall toning and soft creases
in margins. Faint evidence of matburn can be rematted out. Professionally
backed by supporting sheet.
References:
"Casimiro
Castro." The Grove Dictionary of Art. New
York: Macmillan. 2000. Artnet.com.
http://www.artnet.com/library/01/0148/T014818.asp
(12 April 2004).
Mathes,
W. Michael, Mexico on Stone. Lithography in Mexico , 1826-1900.
San Francisco: Book Club of California, 1984.
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