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Brehme (Hugo) Views of the Mexican Revolution
98.R.5
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections
Title: Hugo Brehme Views of the Mexican Revolution
Creator:
Brehme, Hugo
Identifier/Call Number: 98.R.5
Physical Description:
108 photographs
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1913-1920
Abstract: German-born Mexican photographer. Photographs by Hugo Brehme document two episodes of the Mexican Revolution: La Decena Trágica
of 1913, the ten days of counter-revolutionary insurrections against President Francisco Madero; and the American occupation
of Veracruz in 1914. Also included are several general views of Mexico taken between 1914 and 1920.
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Language of Material: Collection material is in German and Spanish.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection documents two significant episodes of the Mexican Revolution: La Decena Trágica of 1913, the ten days of counter-revolutionary
insurrections against President Francisco Madero, culminating in Madero's arrest and betrayal by Victoriana Huerta; and the
American occupation of Veracruz in 1914, Woodrow Wilson's effort to oust Huerta and thereby correct the Taft administration's
collusion in Madero's defeat and assassination. The twenty-nine images taken in Mexico City in February 1913 show cannon-bombed
buildings, groups of Maderistas, and scenes at the Ciudadela, which was held by the Felicistas. Sixty-three images of U.S.
forces in Veracruz depict battleships and the fieldcamp where American soldiers lived during the occupation. There are also
four photographs related to Emilio Zapata's entry into Cuernavaca in 1911 following the resignation of President Porfirio
Díaz. The general views of Mexico offer a sample of the pictorialism for which Brehme is known; these
include landscapes and local color images, with some photographs related to developments in the Revolution after 1914.
Annotations on versos are in German and Spanish. German annotations are in the hand of Wilhelm Weber, Brehme's partner. Numbers
at the beginning of the annotations may refer to negative and/or file numbers.
Arranged in four serises: Series I. Emilio Zapata in Cuernavaca, 1911; Series II. La Decena Trágica, 1913 Feb 9-18; Series
III. American forces in Veracruz, 1914; Series IV. General views, 1913-1920.
Biographical / Historical Note
Hugo Brehme, born in Germany in 1882, arrived in Mexico in 1908 with his wife and photographic equipment. Though he expected
the visit to be relatively brief, he spent the rest of his life in Mexico and is considered one of the founders of Mexican
pictorialist photography. His early photographs were documentary, and include views of the Mexican Revolution that have served
as source material for various 20th century Mexican artists. The most famous of these, the portrait of Zapata in Cuernavaca,
was for many years attributed to Agustín Víctor Casasola, with whom Brehme collaborated from 1913 to1914. After the revolution,
Brehme turned to pictorialism, making impressionistic views of the Mexican landscape and inhabitants. These photographs, taken
as he wandered with cumbersome equipment through remote, often mountainous regions, were highly acclaimed when published in
his collection México Pintoresco (1923). Brehme continued to publish photographs in magazines such as National
Geographic and Mapa, and in various books about Mexican culture and geography, until his death in 1954.
Brehme, Hugo, México pintoresco, México D.F., 1990 (1923).
Brehme, Hugo, México: una nación persistente: fotografías, México D.F., 1995.
Brehme, Hugo, Pueblos y paisajes de México, México D.F., 1992.
Annette Leddy researched and processed the photographs and wrote this finding aid in Fall 1998. Beth Ann Guynn revised the
finding aid in Spring 2007.
Acquired in 1998.
Hugo Brehme views of the Mexican Revolution, 1913-1920, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Accession no. 98.R.5
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa98r5
Contact the Head of Special Collections, Getty Research Institute for copyright information and permission to publish.
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Battleships -- United States
Military camps -- Veracruz (Veracruz-Llave, Mexico)
Pictorialism (Photography movement) -- Mexico
Mexico -- Description and travel
Mexico -- History -- Decena Tr´gica, 1913
Mexico -- History -- Revolution, 1910-1920
Portraits
Mexico City (Mexico)
Veracruz-Llave (Mexico : State)
Veracruz (Veracruz-Llave, Mexico) -- History -- American occupation, 1914
Gelatin silver prints -- Mexico -- 20th century
Photographs, Original
Zapata, Eufemio
Zapata, Josefa Espejo
Weber, Wilhelm
Zapata, Emiliano, 1879-1919
United States. Army