What do they have in common…?

Abstract

Let’s start with a riddle: What do a landscape, a work of art, a painter, an axolotl (yes, that Mexican amphibian that lives—or rather, barely survives—in the Valley of Mexico), and an ecologist have in common? For art connoisseurs, the answer is simple: José María Velasco, an extraordinary painter who is considered the father of 19th-century landscape painting and who, contrary to the trends of his time, drew inspiration from Mexican geography, its scenes, and its ecosystems to create much of his renowned work.