The Art of Hugo Brehme: Churches of Mexico, 1920s Style

Part two of our enquiry--or trek--across the country, plus a few notes on the decay of what once used to be "culture"

In lieu of a preface to this posting, I shall note that I’ve seen way more of my grandfather’s postcards than I put up here.

That said, one of the key features of his collection is that the sights often shown on these postcards are, well, the most prominent buildings of any given place, or, if we’re talking natural wonders, something else.

As regards the former, in many ways, these “most prominent buildings” would include—something as seemingly mundane as churches. Today’s posting of several churches of Mexico is a prime example of this aspect of a “pictorial canon” (as art historians would have it).

I did notice something over the past, say, half-year since I began posting vintage postcards from all over the world: despite their relative prominence on many postcards, when I double-check with other online sources about this and that—yes, often this means Wikipedia (I know)—these Christian places of worship are frequently omitted from Wikipedia’s listing of any given place’s main sights.

Do note that I’m unsure if this is, statistically speaking, true or not; for all I know, it could also be simply something I noticed about the changing mores and biases of—in particular—Wikipedia. What I do know, however, is the content that I’m providing below from these (linked) websites is, well, at least something that should make everybody think about what is said or shown and that which is omitted.

For the first instalment in this series, please see here:

Trekkin' Across Mexico, 1920s Style

Churches of Mexico vs. Wikipedia Descriptions

We’ll commence with the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven in Mexico City, which is noted specifically in the sub-section on “Growth of colonial Mexico City” and the “Tourism” sub-section.

On the right of the above postcard = ‘situated to the right of the main cathedral, the Metropolitan Tabernacle (Spanish: Sagrario Metropolitano) was built by Lorenzo Rodríguez during the height of the Baroque period between 1749 and 1760, to house the archives and vestments of the archbishop. It also functioned and continues to function as a place to receive Eucharist and register parishioners.^’

Courtesy of the above postcard, I think we can now identify the photographer:

Hugo Brehme, (3 December 1882, Eisenach, Germany; 13 June 1954, Mexico City) was a German-born photographer of Mexico. Working almost exclusively in black and white, he established a photographic studio in Mexico City “Fotografía Artística Hugo Brehme” as early as 1912. It was a successful business for forty years. His subject matter photos of traditional rural Mexico, scenic landscapes, railways, modern monuments and archeological sites. His picturesque photos were placed in tourist guides and magazines and he produced a large number of photos for postcards.

He is quite renowned for his documentation of the Mexican Revolution 1913/14—these pictures are in the Getty Research Institute—and if you’re interested in Hugo Brehme’s ‘other’ imagery, I recommend Timeless Mexico: The Photographs of Hugo Brehme by Susan Toomey Frost (Austin, 2011).

More Churches on our Trip Across Mexico

Next up, the Church of Santa Prisca in Taxco de Alarcón in the Mexican state of Guerrero, which is afforded a prominent spot in the “Main Sights” entry.

Next up, the “Church of San Francisco Acatepec…characteristic of the Mexican Baroque architecture, especially recognized for its facade of Talavera mosaics combined with red brick. It is located in the town of San Francisco Acatepec in San Andrés Cholula, Metropolitan area of Puebla, in the state of Puebla, Mexico, and it was one of the first churches founded in the region. The church started to build in mid-16th century and was completed in 1760.”

Do click on this link to look at a contemporary photograph (2013)—it is spectacular (and then some).

Finally, behold the Convent Church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Puebla:

If you like these images, you might want to venture over to the Getty Research Institute’s collections of Brehme’s photographs about the Mexican Revolution.

And, of course, you may go back to the first instalment of this Mexican sojourn of ours, which also show—I think—Hugo Brehme’s work.

And then there will be the next two, not merely one, instalments of these 1920s photographs that will take us, next, to Yucatán peninsula and the Maya ruins when they were about to be excavated—and then I’ll thrown in one more “Hugo Brehme Appreciation” posting with more of his postcards.