Nature, landscapes and panoramas Franz Mayer Collection

For the German philosopher George Simmel, landscape is the way in which nature reveals itself aesthetically and is, in this sense, the most important intellectual construction about the natural world. For painters, it is the opportunity to reflect on nature from the composition, according to the historical definition of the painting as a window. Since the beginning of the 16th century it has been approached from various approaches, many of which we can see in these works.

The first core of this exhibition introduces us to the representation of nature before the landscape. It brings together pieces from New Spain and from primitive Flemish painters that describe how the natural world is a concept turned into a decorative motif or a background. The representations where nature is the protagonist in revelations or Marian apparitions are very eloquent. In the second core, the European landscapes of the 17th and 18th centuries stand out, in which the painting is intended for the visual reconstruction of a place, real or imaginary, which allows the painter to conceive scenes where a geographical point acquires various modulations. The landscape stops being a backdrop, it acquires personality and character, dominating the entire scene. The third core collects images where the landscape incorporates a scientific will. Many of its creators were traveling artists influenced by the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt and who, throughout the 19th century, offered in their views the vastness and natural wealth of distant places. This exhibition is a panorama that shows approaches that mix styles, approaches and eras, evidencing the strength of an artistic genre that defines our relationship with the world.

Carlos E. Palacios Curator