Humboldt on Indigenous Cultures
Vues des Cordillères, et monumens des peuples indigènes de l'Amérique, Atlas Pittoresque. Paris : F. Schoell, 1810. 220 p. : 31 plates (part col.); 54 cm.
From the original atlas edition of Vues des cordillères comes this very colorful plate, a reproduction of costumes drawn by Mexican painters at the time of Montezuma. It is noted in the text that this plate is copied from a version kept at the Vatican, drawn by a Spanish monk who accompanied Cortez on his first journey to Mexico. Humboldt had the opportunity of viewing the original artwork in Mexico, and so was able to compare the two from firsthand knowledge. He says that the priest's drawings are accurate in their portrayal of the costumes themselves, but the reproduction of the Indians is not as faithful. According to Humboldt, the monk elongated the bodies to appeal to a European sensibility. Humboldt admonishes future artists to be more exacting and accurate in their depiction of all that they record.
Vues des Cordillères, et monumens des peuples indigènes de l'Amérique. [Abridged from the folio edition (altas pittoresque)]. Paris, Librairie grecque-latine-allemande, 1816. 2 v. 19 pl.(part col.) 21 cm.
In his travels throughout Mexico and South America, Humboldt was interested in and recorded all aspects of life. Included were the indigenous people of the New World, their history, culture, politics, and religions. In this abridged edition we see a reproduction of the hieroglyphs that represent the days in the Mexican calendar.