Approach to Montevideo, Uruguay
1832
Medium
Watercolor over graphite
Dimensions
sheet: 7 13/16 x 11 11/16 in. (19.8 x 29.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Mrs. Carl L. Selden Gift, in memory of Carl L. Selden, 1993
Accession Number
1993.8
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Approach to Montevideo, Uruguay** (1832) by Conrad captures a serene coastal vista of the Uruguayan capital as seen from approaching ships, rendered in watercolor over graphite on a modest 7 13/16 x 11 11/16-inch sheet. Martens, a skilled British landscape artist, created this intimate drawing during his time aboard HMS *Beagle*—the same voyage that carried Charles Darwin on his groundbreaking scientific expedition. The work depicts the city's distinctive skyline of buildings and churches against the horizon, evoking the bustling port's role as a strategic hub in early 19th-century South Ame...