Jean-Frédéric Waldeck

Jean-Frédéric Maximilien de Waldeck (c. 1766 – April 30, 1875) was a French antiquarian, cartographer, artist and explorer.

He was a man of talent and accomplishment, but his love of self-promotion and refusal to let the truth get in the way of a good story leave some aspects of his life in mystery.

[1] None of this has been independently verified; indeed most of Waldeck's autobiography before about 1820 (including his given birthdate) is undocumented and his name is absent from records of various early expeditions he claimed to have been on.

The original prints were published by the engraver Marcantonio Raimondi in the 16th century based on drawings by Giulio Romano.

Waldeck claimed to have found a set of tracings of the I Modi prints in a convent near Palenque in Mexico.

[1] Waldeck's engravings were very different than the original drawings he worked from, and gave the monuments a decidedly Egyptian look, in line with his patron's views that the ancient Mesoamericans were the Lost Tribes of Israel.

"[1] In 1838, Waldeck published Voyage pittoresque et archéologique dans la province d'Yucatan pendant les années 1834 et 1836 (Paris), a volume of illustrations of Mérida, Yucatán and Maya ruins, including those at Uxmal.

His illustrations of panels of Maya script in the Temple of Inscriptions at Palenque included clear depictions of heads of elephants (now known to be erroneous embellishments).