Mexico City, 1999

Dimensions: 169.0 x 125.0 cm

Physical Description: Gelatin silver print on baryta paper

Inventory Number: DZF 193

Acquisition: Collection DZ BANK at the Städel Museum

Status: Not on display

Texts

About the Work

Mexico City appears here as a winged creature. The main artery of traffic cuts through the colossal body of the metropolis. The structure of the expansive web of streets appears to be divided by two kinking and purposefully swinging strands of feathers. The Swiss photographer had studied nature and its creatures before he directed his attention from the helicopter into the valleys. He flew across the Namibian desert, the Brazilian jungle and many other locations before turning his camera to the grid of densely populated megalopolises in order to comprehend them.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title: Mexico City (Original Title)

Photographer

Balthasar Burkhard

Serial Number / Edition: 1 / 5

Period Produced

20th century

School

Object Type

photograph

Physical Description: Gelatin silver print on baryta paper

Material

Technique

silver gelatin print

Label at the Time of Manufacture: Bezeichnet: Zertifikat

Property and Acquisition

Institution

Städel Museum

Departement

Photographic Collection

Collection

permanent loan

Creditline: Sammlung der DZ BANK im Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

Picture Copyright: © Estate Balthasar Burkhard

Acquisition: Collection DZ BANK at the Städel Museum

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre

city view

Main Motif

Iconclass

Primary

25I1 city-view in general; 'veduta'
61E(MEXICO-CITY) names of cities and villages (MEXICO-CITY)
25I19 metropolis
25I141 street

Secondary

46C16 traffic by road or path with motor-vehicle
61F(AUTOPISTA MÈXICO-PUEBLA (Mexico-Stadt)) names of historical buildings, sites, streets, etc. (AUTOPISTA MÈXICO-PUEBLA (Mexico-Stadt))
25H11 mountains
25C12 volcano
61D(VOLCÀN XALTEPEC (Mexico-Stadt)) geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (VOLCÀN XALTEPEC (Mexico-Stadt)) (VOLCÀN XALTEPEC (Mexico-Stadt))
61D(SIERRA DE SANTA CATARINA (Mexico-Stadt)) geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (SIERRA DE SANTA CATARINA (Mexico-Stadt)) (SIERRA DE SANTA CATARINA (Mexico-Stadt))
61D(CERRO ELEFANTE (Mexico-Stadt)) geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (CERRO ELEFANTE (Mexico-Stadt)) (CERRO ELEFANTE (Mexico-Stadt))
61F(VALLE DE MÈXICO (Mexico-Stadt)) names of historical buildings, sites, streets, etc. (VALLE DE MÈXICO (Mexico-Stadt))