Tepepan, Distrito Federal,

ca. 1920

In the early twentieth century, German-born Brehme emigrated to Mexico, where he established a successful photographic studio. During the Mexican Revolution, Brehme made iconic photographs of revolutionary figures, who understood the pictures as a means of inspiring the people. In the years that followed, Brehme targeted an international audience with photographic portfolios such as Picturesque Mexico, which was published in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish, and postcards including Tepepan, Distrito Federal. In this later work, Brehme emphasized an exoticized vision of Mexico, at times going so far as to edit out objects deemed too "modern" in order to present the romanticized view of Mexican life his European and American customers might expect.