Popocatepetl, Spirited Morning– Mexico

Marsden Hartley, Popocatepetl, Spirited Morning-- Mexico, 1932, oil on board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters, 2004.30.3
Marsden Hartley, Popocatepetl, Spirited Morning-- Mexico, 1932, oil on board, 2529 in. (63.573.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters, 2004.30.3
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Popocatepetl, Spirited Morning– Mexico
Date
1932
Dimensions
2529 in. (63.573.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters
Mediums Description
oil on board
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — Mexico
  • Disaster — volcanic eruption
  • Landscape — mountain — Popocateptl
Object Number
2004.30.3

Artwork Description

During his visit to Mexico City in 1932, Marsden Hartley was entranced by the two snow-capped volcanoes, Popocatépetl and Ixtaccihuatl, surrounding the city. He devoted much of his time to studying ancient Aztec and Mayan artifacts and primordial myths of creation. According to legend, a Tlaxcaltecas chief promised the hand of his beautiful daughter Iztacc to the brave warrior Popo. Falsely told that her lover had been killed in battle, the girl died from grief. When the young warrior returned, he took her body into the hills and knelt beside her to keep watch. To protect them, the gods covered their forms in eternal snow.

Works by this artist (10 items)

Carrie Mae Weems, Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me - A Story in 5 Parts, 2012, video installation and mixed media, color, sound; 18:29 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, 2023.9A-G, © Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me — A Story in 5 Parts
Date2012
video installation and mixed media, color, sound; 18:29 minutes
Not on view
Carrie Mae Weems, Suspended Belief, from the series Constructing History, 2008, archival pigment print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2022.48.5, © Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Suspended Belief, from the series Constructing History
Date2008
archival pigment print
Not on view
Carrie Mae Weems, A Woman Observes, from the series Constructing History, 2008, archival pigment print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2022.48.1, © Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
A Woman Observes, from the series Constructing History
Date2008
archival pigment print
Not on view

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