Pyramid, Teotihuacan

A German-born photographer, Brehme arrived in Mexico with his wife and photographic equipment in 1908 and lived there for the rest of his life, founding a thriving studio in Mexico City. Brehme’s photographs were sold as postcards, capturing scenes of nature and everyday life. Brehme became an advocate for Indigenous Mexican art and culture among Europeans. He was fascinated with the Mesoamerican ruins of Teotihuacan and photographed them extensively—here capturing their monumentality behind a cluster of cacti.