Carlos Nebel

(Hamburg, 1802 – Paris, 1855)

Arrieros (The Muleteers)

n.d.

hand-coloured lithograph

34.4 x 44 cm

Inv. no. CBB107

BBVA Collection Mexico



With his testimonial work, Carl Nebel raised the profile of Mexico throughout the Western world, particularly in Europe. He spent two long periods in the country: firstly, from 1829 to 1834, and then later between 1840 and 1848, the year of his definitive return to his native Germany. Firmly committed with the task of translating local reality in faithful images, Nebel documented the landscapes and everyday scenes he observed during his field trips inland. He compiled fifty hand-coloured lithographs in a portfolio published in 1836 in Paris under the title Voyage pittoresque et archéologique dans la partie la plus intéressante du Méxique, with an introduction by Alexander von Humboldt.

The portfolio, which included the lithograph The Muleteers, came from the print shop that Joseph Lemercier had in Mexico, which enjoyed support from the government with a view to diversifying cultural demand and fostering foreign investment. This idealised image depicts two muleteers and an overseer trying to move a stubborn horse heavily loaded with goods to be sold in some point of the sierra. In rural areas, it would be more customary for goods to be carried by oxen or mules than by a beautiful black horse.