Biography

Mexican artist on the Botanical Expedition to New Spain (1788-1803) and the Guantanamo Commission (1796-1802). Atanasio Echeverría y Godoy was trained in the Royal Art Academy in Mexico and was one of several Mexican born members that were integrated onto Martín Sessé's expedition in Mexico City in 1787. Echeverría was hired to sketch the natural world and its elements on the many collecting trips that were made by members of the expedition across the country. In 1788 after one such excursion he and the zoologist José Longinos Martinez detached themselves, remaining in Mexicalzingo making dissections and drawings while the others returned to Mexico City.

Considered the best of the artists, in 1791 he was asked to join the California (Nutka) part of the expedition along with José Mariano Moçiño, the trip lasted for two years and Echeverría made images of some 200 plant species and some animals specimens. On their return Echeverría went to southern Mexico with Moçiño before the entire expedition split into two groups in 1794; he went to the Caribbean with Sessé and another botanist Jaime Senseve. On their arrival in Havana, however, he and Senseve were taken ill with dysentery, bringing botanical work to a near standstill for the first year. They left for Puerto Rico in 1796 but here too their research was impaired when war broke out against the British, and they had to escape back to Havana the following year.

At this point in 1797 the expedition was due to be drawing to a close, but because of the unexpected delays and vast amount of work they still had to complete Sessé wished to continue collecting. Echeverría, however, decided to abandon the expedition to join with the Guantanamo Commission of the Conte de Mopox y Jaruco (an expedition with a largely military focus, sent to map the bay and make some scientific observations) in order to draw birds and fish.

Sessé meanwhile had decided that his artists should only paint one part of collected specimen (flower, fruit, leaf) because of time restraints and complete the rest after they returned to Spain. He tried to get orders for Echeverría to rejoin and return with him to complete the some 2,000 partly finished paintings and 400 drafts from Cuba and Nutka. Echeverría, however, was taken on by Mopox to aid José Guío, the expedition's original artist, painting the excess of specimens that he could not handle alone. Echeverría travelled with his new companions from Santiago de Cuba to Guantanamo and back to Havana, all together they collected some 3,700 specimens from 382 species, describing 27 new species and 5 new genera. Echeverría returned to Madrid briefly following this expedition but in 1804, after 17 years of continuous scientific exploration, he returned to Mexico and was named second director of art for the Real Academy of San Carlos. 86 sheets of fish and bird drawings of his were deposited in the Deposito Hidrografico of the nautical centre in Barcelona.

Sources:
Barras y de Aragon, F. de las, 1952, "Los Naturalistas en la expedición del Conde de Mopox a la Isla de Cuba en 1786", Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural. Sección Biológica. 50: 425-434
Fernández de Caleya, P. B., Puig-Samper, M. A., Zanudio Varela, G., Valero González, M. and Maldonado Polo, J. L., 1998, Exploration Botanico de las Islas de Barlovento: Cuba y Puerto Rico. Siglo XVIII. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Madrid.
Ricket, H. W., 1949, The Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain. The Cronica Botanica Co. Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
San Pío Alardeen, M. P. and Puig-Samper Mulero, M. Á, Eds., 1999, Las Flores del Paraíso: La Expedición Botánica de Cuba en los Siglos XVIII y XIX. Real Jardín Botánico, Madrid.

Biography

Mexican artist on the Botanical Expedition to New Spain (1788-1803) and the Guantanamo Commission (1796-1802). Atanasio Echeverría y Godoy was trained in the Royal Art Academy in Mexico and was one of several Mexican born members that were integrated onto Martín Sessé's expedition in Mexico City in 1787. Echeverría was hired to sketch the natural world and its elements on the many collecting trips that were made by members of the expedition across the country. In 1788 after one such excursion he and the zoologist José Longinos Martinez detached themselves, remaining in Mexicalzingo making dissections and drawings while the others returned to Mexico City.

Considered the best of the artists, in 1791 he was asked to join the California (Nutka) part of the expedition along with José Mariano Moçiño, the trip lasted for two years and Echeverría made images of some 200 plant species and some animals specimens. On their return Echeverría went to southern Mexico with Moçiño before the entire expedition split into two groups in 1794; he went to the Caribbean with Sessé and another botanist Jaime Senseve. On their arrival in Havana, however, he and Senseve were taken ill with dysentery, bringing botanical work to a near standstill for the first year. They left for Puerto Rico in 1796 but here too their research was impaired when war broke out against the British, and they had to escape back to Havana the following year.

At this point in 1797 the expedition was due to be drawing to a close, but because of the unexpected delays and vast amount of work they still had to complete Sessé wished to continue collecting. Echeverría, however, decided to abandon the expedition to join with the Guantanamo Commission of the Conte de Mopox y Jaruco (an expedition with a largely military focus, sent to map the bay and make some scientific observations) in order to draw birds and fish.

Sessé meanwhile had decided that his artists should only paint one part of collected specimen (flower, fruit, leaf) because of time restraints and complete the rest after they returned to Spain. He tried to get orders for Echeverría to rejoin and return with him to complete the some 2,000 partly finished paintings and 400 drafts from Cuba and Nutka. Echeverría, however, was taken on by Mopox to aid José Guío, the expedition's original artist, painting the excess of specimens that he could not handle alone. Echeverría travelled with his new companions from Santiago de Cuba to Guantanamo and back to Havana, all together they collected some 3,700 specimens from 382 species, describing 27 new species and 5 new genera. Echeverría returned to Madrid briefly following this expedition but in 1804, after 17 years of continuous scientific exploration, he returned to Mexico and was named second director of art for the Real Academy of San Carlos. 86 sheets of fish and bird drawings of his were deposited in the Deposito Hidrografico of the nautical centre in Barcelona.

Sources:
Barras y de Aragon, F. de las, 1952, "Los Naturalistas en la expedición del Conde de Mopox a la Isla de Cuba en 1786", Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural. Sección Biológica. 50: 425-434
Fernández de Caleya, P. B., Puig-Samper, M. A., Zanudio Varela, G., Valero González, M. and Maldonado Polo, J. L., 1998, Exploration Botanico de las Islas de Barlovento: Cuba y Puerto Rico. Siglo XVIII. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Madrid.
Ricket, H. W., 1949, The Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain. The Cronica Botanica Co. Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
San Pío Alardeen, M. P. and Puig-Samper Mulero, M. Á, Eds., 1999, Las Flores del Paraíso: La Expedición Botánica de Cuba en los Siglos XVIII y XIX. Real Jardín Botánico, Madrid.