FREDERICK CATHERWOOD
British architect, painter, drawer and illustrator Frederick Catherwood (1799-1854)
studied architecture in London from 1815 to 1820, before in 1821 upon invitation
of Joseph Severn he went to Rome, where he contributed to the excavation of
ancient monuments. During the following years his numerous travels took him to
Sicily, Greece, Egypt and Palestine. From 1836 to 1839 Catherwood worked as an
architect in New York, later, in 1839-40 and 1841-42, he joined the expeditions
of lawyer and archaeologist John Lloyd Stephens to Mexico and Guatemala, which
were to be honored as pioneer achievements contributing to the exploration of
Maya culture. During these expeditions Catherwood used a camera obscura to
produce exact and detailed drawings, which later provided the illustrations for
Stephen's scientific reports ('Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas
and Yucatan', 1841 and 'Incidents of Travel in Yucatan', 1843). In 1844
Catherwood himself published the complex book 'Views of Ancient Monuments', for
which the greatest lithographers of the time reproduced a series of selected
drawings, which for the first time conveyed an idea of the size and monumental
nature of the sunken culture.
British architect, painter, drawer and illustrator Frederick Catherwood (1799-1854)
studied architecture in London from 1815 to 1820, before in 1821 upon invitation
of Joseph Severn he went to Rome, where he contributed to the excavation of
ancient monuments. During the following years his numerous travels took him to
Sicily, Greece, Egypt and Palestine. From 1836 to 1839 Catherwood worked as an
architect in New York, later, in 1839-40 and 1841-42, he joined the expeditions
of lawyer and archaeologist John Lloyd Stephens to Mexico and Guatemala, which
were to be honored as pioneer achievements contributing to the exploration of
Maya culture. During these expeditions Catherwood used a camera obscura to
produce exact and detailed drawings, which later provided the illustrations for
Stephen's scientific reports ('Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas
and Yucatan', 1841 and 'Incidents of Travel in Yucatan', 1843). In 1844
Catherwood himself published the complex book 'Views of Ancient Monuments', for
which the greatest lithographers of the time reproduced a series of selected
drawings, which for the first time conveyed an idea of the size and monumental
nature of the sunken culture.