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Primary sourcePainting1567

View of Buenos Aires shortly after its founding

Theodor de Bry · 1567

An engraving showing Pedro de Mendoza's 1536 settlement at Buenos Aires, decades before Garay's 1580 refounding of the city.

Shows the earlier 1536 settlement of Buenos Aires that Garay would later refound in 1580.

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Black-and-white engraving labeled 'Buenas Aeres' showing a walled settlement of houses on the Rio della Plata. Small figures fight in the streets and outside the walls, a horseman rides nearby, and boats lie on the shore.
Theodor de Bry, View of Buenos Aires shortly after its founding by Pedro de Mendoza, 1567.

About this source

What it is

This black-and-white engraving by Theodor de Bry is dated 1567 and shows the settlement of Buenos Aires founded by Pedro de Mendoza y Luján in 1536. It depicts a walled settlement of houses along the Rio de la Plata, with boats on the shore and figures in the streets and outside the walls.

Why it matters

Mendoza's settlement was later abandoned, and it was Juan de Garay who refounded Buenos Aires in 1580. This image shows the earlier, failed attempt at settlement, giving context for why Garay's later refounding mattered so much to the city's history.

Look closer

  • What does the engraving show happening in the streets, and what might that tell you about the dangers facing the first settlers?
  • Why do you think Mendoza's settlement did not last, leading Garay to refound the city decades later?
  • How might an artist working in Europe, far from the Rio de la Plata, have imagined this scene?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Juan de Garay on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of an 1836 Spanish book reading 'Fundación de la Ciudad de Buenos-Aires, por D. Juan de Garay, con otros documentos de aquella época', with a 'Primera Edición' label, a library stamp reading Universitäts-Bibliothek Basel, handwritten shelf marks, and the imprint 'Buenos-Aires, Imprenta del Estado, 1836'.Book

Primary source

Fundación de la ciudad de Buenos-Aires, por D. Juan de Garay, con otros documentos de aquella época

Juan de Garay · 1836

Front cover of a dark red leather book with a small gold emblem of a ram or sheep above gold initials resembling 'L' and 'T' or similar monogram, centered on the cover.Book

Primary source

La Argentina, o la conquista del Río de la Plata

Martín del Barco Centenera · 1602

Painting of a founding scene: a man in a dark cloak points a sword toward a tall wooden post while a crowd of armored Spanish soldiers and clergy stands before a large red banner with a gold coat of arms. Native people kneel and sit in the foreground, and ships appear on the distant shoreline under a cloudy sky.Painting

Secondary source

Fundación de Buenos Aires

José Moreno Carbonero · 1923

Engraved-style portrait of a bearded man in a wide-brimmed hat and a lace collar, facing right, with the caption 'DON JUAN DE GARAY' across the top and a signature in the lower right corner.Painting

Secondary source

Retrato de Don Juan de Garay

Unknown

Bronze statue of a bearded man in 16th-century armored costume, with a plumed hat, a sash across his chest, and a sword at his side. His right arm is extended outward, pointing, and he stands on a stone pedestal against trees and sky.Sculpture

Secondary source

Monument to Juan de Garay

Gustav Eberlein · 1915

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