The location history of Conrad Wise Chapman's City of Mexico from the Hacienda de los Morales is somewhat complex because the artist painted numerous versions of this panoramic view between the 1890s and 1907. Consequently, there is no single provenance that applies to every version. The best documented history concerns the 1907 version, which is now housed in Museo Soumaya, Carlos Slim Foundation, in Mexico City.
Painted by Conrad Wise Chapman in 1907, the painting "City of Mexico from the Hacienda de los Morales" is a vast panoramic view of the valley of Mexico City from one of the oldest colonial estates of the Mexico. The hacienda gained popularity for its mulberry plantations and agricultural production by the 19th century along with being known for the beautiful scenic viewpoint of the Mexico City valley. Numerous artists frequented the estate for practice by Chapman became one of its most devoted interpreters, returning repeatedly to capture transitioning weather conditions, seasons and various times for the day. Conrad Wise Chapman was born in Washington D.C. in 1842, United States of America. His father, John Gadsby Chapman was a painter as well and it is his father from whom Conrad received formal artistic training early on in his youth. Conrad also spent a large portion of his youth in Rome, where he learnt the classical traditions of painting grasping principles from renaissance aesthetics to the picturesque landscape traditions which greatly impacted his visual vocabulary. Conrad is widely remembered for two distinct phases of his artistic career, the first being the periods of his service in the Confederate army during the American Civil War. In this period he created an extraordinary series of paintings documenting Confederate fortifications and military life. The second phase was when he left for settling in Europe and later travelling to Mexico following the end of the civil war. Fascinated by Mexico's dramatic landscapes, colonial architecture, volcanoes, rural life and the rapidly modernising capital, he painted hundreds of views of the Valley of Mexico over several decades. The above artwork belongs to this second phase, visibly illustrating the ideals of the Hudson River School of painting which had greatly influenced Conrad's style, especially its emphasis on panoramic landscapes, natural empiricism and luminous atmospheric effects. The colour palette plays a significant role in the painting's success. Chapman contrasts the vivid greens of vegetation with warm earth tones and soft blue atmospheric effects. City of Mexico from the Hacienda de los Morales is one of Conrad Wise Chapman's most celebrated Mexican landscapes. It exemplifies his lifelong fascination with the Valley of Mexico and demonstrates his exceptional ability to combine documentary-like accuracy with artistic beauty. The painting also illustrates Chapman's synthesis of American landscape traditions with Mexican subject matter.
The panoramic view of Mexico City in the painting is realistically rendered and skilfully executed. It reminds one of the landscape paintings by John Constable associated with romanticism. The passage written about the painting exquisitely describes the historicity of the artwork and the painter. It also includes insights into the visual language of the piece thereby making it a worthwhile read.
