On the Viga, Outskirts of the City of Mexico

Samuel Colman discovered the scenic beauty of the Mexican landscape for the first time in 1892—a moment when it was becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination for North Americans. This view depicts the canal and "Paseo [avenue] de la Viga" just outside of Mexico City, a site that suited Colman's particular interest in painting architectural forms set within sun-bleached equatorial settings. Writers of his own time often described these tonal works (using a limited range of color) as vague, dreamy, and poetic. [source]