Nebel, Carl (1805–1855)

Carl Nebel (b. 1805; d. 1855), German painter of Mexican scenes. After studying architecture and design, Nebel traveled through Mexico from 1829 to 1834, exploring various locations with the object of drawing rural and urban landscapes, archaeological sites, and folkloric scenes. Nebel was the first to draw Tajín, Xochicalco, and other sites. Due to his academic education, his drawings are excellent, and his folkloric scenes particularly outstanding.

Returning to Europe, Nebel worked in Paris on publishing his first book on Mexico. Consisting of fifty color lithographs and text based on observations by Alexander Von Humboldt, who was a possible inspiration for Nebel's work, the book first appeared in grand format in 1836, and a Spanish translation entitled Viaje pintoresco y arqueológico: Sobre la parte más interesante de la Repú blica Mexicana was published in 1840. Another book illustrated by Nebel, The War Between the United States and Mexico, was published in Philadelphia in 1851. The drawings were done from memory, perhaps from notes that Nebel had taken or that were supplied to him. The book contains photographs of the Mexican-American War, some of the first photography to serve as testimony of a military clash.

See alsoArt: The Nineteenth Century; Mexico, Wars and Revolutions: Mexican-American War; Xochicalco.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Manuel Romero De Terreros, México visto por los pintores extranjeros de siglo XIX (1959).

Renate Löschner et al., Artistas alemanes en latinoamérica: Pintores naturalistas del siglo XIX ilustran el continente (1978).

Additional Bibliography

García Rubio, Fabiola. La entrada de las tropas estadunidenses a la ciudad de México: La mirada de Carl Nebel. México, D.F.: Instituto Mora, 2002.

                                      Esther Acevedo