Panoramic View of Buenos Ayres

  • About the work
    Location
    Country: Argentina
    City: Buenos Aires
    Place: British Embassy
    This panoramic view of the city shows the Plaza de Mayo and its surrounding quarters looking eastwards. Prominent landmarks include the Pirámide de Mayo in the centre of the plaza, erected in 1811 on the first anniversary of independence, and the Catedral Metropolitana, the earliest neoclassical building in Buenos Aires. This print is probably the view from the tower of the Cabildo that Kretschmar is known to have produced in 1836, which was published in London in 1842. The Cabildo itself is shown in a vignette at the bottom of the print; six of its eleven arches were later destroyed when the Avenida de Mayo was widened.  
  • About the artist
    London-born Richard Gilson Reeve was the son, and most likely pupil, of Richard Reeve (born 1780). Both father and son were aquatint engravers, mainly of sporting and marine subjects.
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  • Details
    Title
    Panoramic View of Buenos Ayres
    Date
    Medium
    Aquatint
    Acquisition
    Presented by the Victoria and Albert Museum, March 1948
    Provenance
    Earl of Harrowby; Victoria and Albert Museum; presented by V&A to Ministry of Works 1948
    GAC number
    527