El Castillo by Frederick Catherwood - Tulum, Mexico - Paintings Then and Now on Waymarking.com

El Castillo stands on a bluff facing east toward the Caribbean Sea. Tulúm is also the Yucatan Mayan word for fence, wall or trench. The walls surrounding the site allowed the Tulum fort to be defended against invasions. Tulum had access to both land and sea trade routes, making it an important trade hub, especially for obsidian. From numerous depictions in murals and other works around the site, Tulum appears to have been an important site for the worship of the Diving or Descending god.

Through later investigations done by Sanders and Miller, it has been determined that Tulum was occupied during the late Postclassic period around AD 1200. The site continued to be occupied until contact with the Spanish was made in the early 16th century. By the end of the 16th century, the site was abandoned completely.

El Castillo which is 7.5 m (25 ft) tall, was built late in the thirteenth century, during what is known as the Mayan post-classic period. El Castillo was built on a previous building that was colonnaded and had a beam and mortar roof. The lintels in the upper rooms have serpent motifs carved into them. The construction of the Castillo appears to have taken place in stages.

Frederick Catherwood (27 February 1799 – 27 September 1854) was an English artist, architect and explorer, best remembered for his meticulously detailed drawings of the ruins of the Maya civilization. He explored Mesoamerica in the mid 19th century with writer John Lloyd Stephens. Their books, "Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatán" and "Incidents of Travel in Yucatán", were best sellers and introduced to the Western world the civilization of the ancient Maya. In 1837, Catherwood was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Honorary member.

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Website of painting. Exact URL of painting is required: [Web Link] Artist: Frederick Catherwood Date of Painting: 01/01/1844 Date of Your Photograph: 02/28/2018 Medium of Painting: Oil on canvas

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