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Brehme (Hugo) Views of the Mexican Revolution
98.R.5  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Arrangement note
  • Biographical / Historical Note
  • Processing History
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Publication Rights
  • Access

  • 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.
    Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record  for this collection. Click here for the access policy .
    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.

    Arrangement note

    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.

    Processing History

    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.

    Acquisition Information

    Acquired in 1998.

    Preferred Citation

    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

    Publication Rights

    Contact the Head of Special Collections, Getty Research Institute for copyright information and permission to publish.

    Access

    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