Jean-Baptiste Louis Gros
It's Monday, so a volcano will be a perfect image to start a week, right?
Although a gifted painter (as well as a notable pioneer of photography), Gros’ primary career was as a diplomat. This spectacular view of the crater of Popocatépetl in Mexico is one of several views of this famous natural wonder Gros painted during his term as First Secretary of the French delegation to Mexico (1832–1836). Popocatépetl is a still active stratovolcano located in the states of Puebla, Morelos, and Mexico in central Mexico. At 5,426 m (17,802 ft), it is the second highest peak in Mexico, after Citlaltépetl (Pico de Orizaba) at 5,636 m (18,491 ft). The volcano got its name from the Nahuatl words popōca ("it smokes") and tepētl ("mountain"), meaning Smoking Mountain.
We present today's work thanks to the North Carolina Museum of Art.
P.S. Click here to see how other painters depicted volcanoes in art. :)
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