Abel Briquet, Mexico. Late 19th century.

Stereoview of Chapultepec Castle rising above wooded grounds in Mexico City. A large maguey plant dominates the foreground, its pointed leaves spreading above a reclining man. Two other figures, one standing and one seated, appear along the path. The castle’s arcaded terraces are visible on the hill beyond.

Mounted on yellow cardstock with the side imprints “Vistas Mexicanas” and “A. Briquet, Fot.” A printed label on the reverse reads “Mexico / Castillo de Chapultepec / Chapultepec Castel.”

Begun in 1785 as a retreat for the Spanish viceroy, Chapultepec Castle later housed Mexico’s military academy and became the scene of one of the decisive engagements of the Mexican–American War. American troops stormed its defenses on September 13, 1847, giving the site an enduring place in Mexican national memory. In the 1860s, Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota transformed it into their imperial residence; under Porfirio Díaz, it became a presidential retreat. The terraces in Briquet’s photograph thus belonged to a building successively claimed by colonial, imperial, and republican governments. Briquet, a French photographer working in Mexico, documented the country’s architecture, landscapes, and public works, producing albums for the Díaz government as well as commercial series such as Vistas Mexicanas. His view of Chapultepec brings these interests together, placing a celebrated seat of political power beyond an expansive maguey plant and figures resting in its grounds.