Early California Art and AI - A Study of Mission San José del Cabo

 



Early California Art and AI - A Study of Mission San José del Cabo

        There are precious few primary source images of the mission period in Las Californias (1697 - c. 1834). The images that do exist, however, have been crucial in understanding this time period in the region's history. While many institutions have digitized these materials, new AI-based technology may offer possibilities to enhance or understand these images in new ways. For this study, I will focus on the following images of Mission San José del Cabo at the southern edge of the peninsula of Baja California:

  • 1762-1766 - Watercolors produced by the Jesuit missionary Fr. Ignacio Tirsch of Baja California (click on "Faksimile (97)" on the digital archive of the Czech National Library. The specific image studied here will be image 8r).

  • 1769 - Three images produced by Alexandre Jean Noël during an expedition to observe a transit of the planet Venus across the sun on June 3, 1769, by a French-Spanish expedition under the leadership of astronomer Abbot Jean-Baptiste Chappe d’Auteroche (available through the digital archive of the Louvre in Paris: Images 1 and 2, Image 3). For the study below, I'll focus on "Image 1" and "Image 3," since "Image 2" is a copy of "Image 1" with only small differences.

These images contain a lot of important historical information, not only relative to Mission San José del Cabo, but also to understanding California's role in trade with Asia, as well as context for the time period when Spain moved to colonize today's state of California in the United States under the Portolá Expedition (1769-1770).

        First I will show the original image in the highest possible digital resolution offered by each institution, then I will show an enhanced version using digital tools. The enhanced versions were created with a free app called AI Photo Enhancer & Upscaler with its "Upscaler" tool, and then run through a "Dynamic" or "Enhance" filter in the Google Photos app.


Fr. Ignacio Tirsch's Watercolor of Mission San José del Cabo

Tirsch - Original


Tirsch - AI and Google Photos Enhancement


At first there might be little apparent difference in the overall image. Looking a little more closely, however, differences start to emerge. I will approach these by looking at different "focus" portions of each work.

Tirsch - Focus 1 - The Manila Galleon

        The Manila Galleon sailed from about 1565 to the first decade of the 1800s. About one galleon a year was sent with silver from Acapulco to Manila, where the silver was used to purchase porcelains, spices, gold, wax, etc., before sailing back to Acapulco. This route across the Pacific was one of the primary realizations of Spain's efforts to establish trade by sea with Asia. In effect, however, the route served to enrich Mexico City merchants who acted as middlemen for trade between Spain and Asia. Recent research by Dr. Marie Duggan has illuminated the incentives for merchants in northwestern New Spain to utilize Baja California as a conduit for this trade that bypassed the King's taxes on the silver produced from the mines there. It also helped buyers of Asian wares in northwestern New Spain avoid higher transportation costs after these goods passed through Mexico City from Acapulco.
        Pictured here is one of the galleons stopping on its annual journey in the 1760s. The image was done in watercolors by the Jesuit missionary Fr. Ignacio Tirsch. He labeled the piece as follows:
    
"San Jose del Cabo, another mission named after Saint Joseph in the foothills of San Lucas, in California, which was also nearly completed [being built] by me. The mission is depicted with the Philippine ship arriving to be supplied with food."

Tirsch served in Baja California from early 1762 until beginning his journey back to Europe after the Jesuit expulsion from the peninsula in 1767. This means he could have only seen galleons, which typically arrived to New Spain very late in the year, in the years 1762-1766. Using recent research by scholars of the Manila Galleon trade, it seems the pictured ship can only be one of four that sailed during these years:

1762: August 1, 1762, the Santísima Trinidad (alias) Nuestra Señora del Buen Fin, sailed from Manila
for Acapulco but seized by the British.

1763: No galleon sailed.

1764: August 14, 1764, the Santa Rosa sailed from Manila for Acapulco.

1765: September 7, 1765, the Santa Rosa sailed from Manila for Acapulco.

1766: August 13, 1766, the San Carlos Borromeo and the Santa Rosa sailed from Manila for Acapulco.

This then, is the closest to an identifiable image of a Manila ship in California this author could find, being either the Santa Rosa of 1764-1766 or the San Carlos Borromeo of 1766. The ship appears to have a very high stern castle, a design feature that was fast going out of usage in the 18th century, but perhaps still necessary given a high tonnage of goods being transported. The image apparently shows a launch from the ship arriving at the beach near the mission, where there appears to be a mayordomo of the mission (with hat on horseback) directing an exchange of goods with the mission's Pericú inhabitants. Other Pericú seem to be preparing goods for trade. The implication is that the crews aboard these ships would intentionally anchor at San José del Cabo in front of the estuary in order to trade.
        There are no major elements that stand out in the AI-enhanced version of the image, except, perhaps for the clarity of the men working onshore. Perhaps, too, it is more apparent that there are many flags flying on the ship, which has struck its sails since it is anchored. It might also be possible to get a sense of what crops are being grown in the basin of the San José Estuary.
    

Focus 2 - The Entertainers

        Pictured here are a man and a woman on the right, seemingly a couple, and two individuals who appear to be dancing, and possibly also singing, on the left. The dress of the figures at right indicate that they are Spanish individuals with high status, perhaps taking their dog (which might wear a collar) with them. The female carries a hand fan that may have even arrived on the ship. The two individuals at left may have also come on the ship from Asia, perhaps as entertainers for the local population on the peninsula. This scene suggests that the arrival of the ship, which was rare and ostensibly important to the local economy, was cause for a kind of carnival.
        While the AI enhancement cleans up and sharpens the image so as to make it more pleasing to the eye, it's unclear if any important detail is elucidated through its additions. Perhaps details that were not as apparent in the original digitized version become more clear to the viewer, which then prompts one to consult the original source again. Since the dataset informing the AI is interpreting outerwear such as the Spanish gentleman's jacket, it may simply apply sharpening and coloring adjustments aligned with jackets more generally represented in the dataset, such as those from more recent centuries. As such, important information regarding the texture of the materials of the clothing may be lost in the AI version, even if it helps sharpen what to look for in the original. One component that does stand out in the AI version is the shape of the Spanish man's hat, which was not as clear in the original image.

Tirsch - Focus 3 - The Officials

        Here there is a Jesuit missionary (in black clothing) riding alongside two Spanish men of higher class, perhaps on their way to meet at the beach where the goods are being exchanged. This may suggest the importance of the mission in organizing illicit trade for the benefit of people in northwestern New Spain. The bright red manga (like a pancho, but shaped differently) of the rider at left stands out with what appears to be a decorative element (shaped like a candy cane) on the shoulder, as does his hat and beautiful mochila that Tirsch seems to suggest is decorated with intricate designs. This mochila is contrasted with the relatively plain mochila utilized by the Jesuit missionary in black. Each of these three men appear to wear different shaped hats, too. One element that is slightly garbled is the stirrup, which seems to be a type made of metal that was popular during the period that had a distinct shape with two triangular protrusions below the foot.

Tirsch - Focus 4 - Mission Life

        This image shows the mission center. At far left there are women taking what appears to be laundry in baskets upon their heads to the river for washing. Behind them is a pen for goats. It's difficult to identify the buildings, but it seems the one with the cross is the church (seen from the back), while it appears that a building of importance, perhaps for the mission's military leader, in front of it. All of the buildings have brush roofs indicating that the mission probably didn't have a kiln to burn roof tile. The two mission bells stand to the right of the church, hoisted on a simple stand of wood poles. There are two bells that could produce two different tones, which was helpful in developing a variety of ringing patterns to signal various information to the surrounding community. Just above and slightly to the left of the cross appears what may be a threshing floor to grind grain. A similar floor exists today at Mission San Antonio de Padua in California. Just to the upper left of the threshing floor appears to be a woman with a chicken in hand, which were commonly killed by breaking the neck. The chicken is more apparent in the enhanced version. To the upper right of the cross appears to be another woman of status, perhaps from the ship since she seems to have a servant or possibly a slave attending to an umbrella to shade her from the Baja California sun. At the far right of the image is a shepherd with his dog corralling some sheep.


Alexandre Jean Noël's Pen and Ink Depiction of Mission San José del Cabo

Noël Image 1 - Original

Noël Image 1 - AI and Google Photos Enhancement


Noël Image 2 - Original


Noël Image 2 - AI and Google Photos Enhancement



Noël Image 1 - Focus 1 - The Loungers, Buildings, and Topography


        The quality of the source image from the Louvre is of lower than that offered by the Czech National Library of Fr. Tirsch's watercolor. The forlorn and isolated beauty of Noël's sketch really shines in the enhanced version.
        The individuals lounging in the foreground are made to be much more clear, and the AI interprets three of the individuals wearing what appear to be long blue skirts as women. What were originally blobs appear to be other individuals resting. Perhaps this sketch was made during the evening after the mission population had completed the day's labors. There appears to be a male walking at left. The original image seems to suggest he carries a hat but this is not as clear in the AI version.
        Interesting, too, are the details the AI version highlights in the buildings. The walls are more clearly constructed out of adobe bricks (a detail Noël seems to want to emphasize so much so as to seemingly increase the actual size of the bricks). Two of the buildings appear to have very high and steep roofs, suggesting a need to quickly dispel water in times of big storms, which occur in the late summer. An interesting building appears at right, with a ladder leading to its top. It's difficult to say what this structure is, and may represent new construction (or perhaps storage or maybe even an outhouse, although this seems unlikely - I'll have to look into this. Note: Historian and artist David Rickman considers this might be an arbor). A new building seems to be under construction at the back right, behind the odd structure with a ladder leading to its top.
        Noël also depicted the mountains (the Sierra de la Laguna) on the horizon with a high level of accuracy, indicating that he wanted to represent the scene accurately. A comparison of his sketch and a recent photo taken on the beach just outside of town (the same beach where goods are being unloaded in Fr. Tirsch's sketch) demonstrates just how carefully he depicted the ridges against the horizon, despite the slightly different perspectives of each image (shown below).



Noël Image 1 - Focus 2 - Estuary, Tasajo, and an Important House


        After years of looking at this image, I simply missed that the San José Estuary appears at the far right. This was the mission's source of fresh water and why the mission was built in this location in 1753 (although the mission had been established in the area as early as 1730). The AI and enhanced version brings out the green and even the shapes of what appear to be Mexican Fan Palms in the estuary.
        A beautiful cart stands to the side of an arbor where men appear to be at work. Two men seem to be in the process of making beef jerkey (tasajo), with one hanging the strips of meat to dry. This becomes more clear in the enhanced version, which brings out the color differences between the plant-based materials used in the construction of the arbor and the red-hued color of the meat hanging from the crossbeam. Before this image was enhanced, I considered that these individuals might simply be constructing something, rather than hanging meat to dry. Three other men appear to be under the arbor. The original image suggests they are around a fire, but this might be a little less clear in the enhanced version. It's possible that the smoke was interpreted by the AI to be a white wall.
        To the upper left there is an atrial cross, which was common in mission establishments. The buildings at right again have very high and steep roofs. The building in the back has columns in front of a patio, indicating that it was a structure of importance. This may have been the missionary's house, or possibly a house for officials and/or soldiers. A very similar structure existed at Mission San Carlos Borromeo and is visible in sketches in the early 1790s (more on this in a future post). The soldiers' barracks at Mission San Juan Capistrano today also look very similar.

Noël Image 1 - Focus 3 - Sisyphus, Gathering at the Fire, Buildings, and Plants


        At the far left of this portion we see a very indistinct figure, possibly where the work is damaged. The enhanced version suggests the figure may be carrying something, although this somewhat blends into what appears to be a damaged portion of the structure behind. Perhaps the figure is carrying more kindling for the fire. The figure is moving towards a group of what appear to be men around a fire, which is in this portion of the image perhaps more apparent than the fire below the arbor in "Noël - Focus 2." Two of the individuals around the fire are perhaps cooking while others lay down to relax. Two other figures behind them, one of whom is standing while the other appears to be kneeling, might be wearing hats and clothing more like what the Spanish soldiers, officials, or missionaries tend to wear. This is not nearly as apparent in the original version, but seems to be suggested by the enhanced version.
        The building in the background appears to have a porch, this time with poles acting as pillars, rather than the more substantial pillars seemingly made of stone or adobe visible in "Noël - Focus 2." This suggests, perhaps, housing for soldiers or the mayordomo, or, perhaps, even higher-status Pericú families in the mission. If the men behind the group around the fire are indeed Spanish, it might suggest that they are standing near the dwelling because it is their residence.
            There is also what appears to be a yucca valida at the bottom right and to its left might be a bald cholla, which is significantly enhanced by the AI version. Not in view of this portion but easily visible in the full image above, is a galloping cactus off to the right of the yucca.

Noël Image 3 - Original



Noël Image 3 - AI and Google Photos Enhancement



Noël Image 3 - Focus 1 - The Funeral Procession of Abbot Jean-Baptiste Chappe d’Auteroche


        Abbot Jean-Baptiste Chappe d’Auteroche, the leader of the French-Spanish expedition to observe the transit of Venus, died at San José del Cabo on August 1, 1769, of some kind of fever, perhaps yellow fever. This suggests that this image was made by Noël in August of 1769. The others (Image 1 and Image 2) could have been made as early as May, 1769, when the expedition arrived to the mission, and as late as August, 1769. It should be noted, however, that it appears that a structure under construction in Image 1 and Image 2 is completed here, suggesting a later date for this image. In any case, Noël's works depict the hotter months of the year.
        This image captures an incredible diversity of peoples. First, you have the Pericú men carrying Chappe d'Auteroche's body to the church. Behind them is a man in what appears to be typical higher-class European dress, who David Rickman informs me is a French naval officer. He is perhaps wearing a wig typical of his class, and carrying a saber (please correct me if I'm wrong, I am not an arms expert). This man was probably part of the expedition. Behind him is
what appears to be a Franciscan missionary, seemingly Fr. Juan Morán, who was stationed there at the time. Behind him appear to be two others with similar hair as the Pericú men but with clothing. These could be other members of the expedition or, perhaps, Morán's Pericú servants.

Noël Image 3 - Focus 2 - Front of the Procession


        The front of the procession is led by children, with the adults behind. It's likely that everyone in the visible procession is male, with the females perhaps already having arrived at the church, and visible at the far right at the church entrance. An image of the Corpus Christi procession at Mission San Gabriel c. 1830 shows the males and females walking in parallel lines, as was common before the twentieth century. While most of the individuals in the procession wear a loin cloth, three wear a kind of shawl, including the boy at front walking with the cross. Perhaps the shawls indicate a higher relative status among the Pericú at the mission. Most of the procession appears to be holding candles, although it's unclear if they are lit in the image. 
        A slightly better view that Images 1 and 2 of the important building with pillars is visible behind. It may be that this image was done after "Noël Image 1," shown above, as the odd building with a ladder leading to its top may be closer to completion at left. It appears that this building is made of plant materials from the estuary, meaning it probably didn't house anyone, but was perhaps used for storage or some other purpose.

Fr. Tirsch and Noël - Artists with Different Perspectives
        Although Fr. Tirsch's watercolor and Noël's works were completed within about five years of each other, they offer very different perspectives of Mission San José del Cabo. In part these differences stem from their being depictions of the mission at different times of the year. Tirsch paints the exciting scene following the arrival of the Manila Galleon, Noël portrays the mission in the late afternoon after a long day of work in one image and a funeral in a another. But this is only scratches the surface of all of the other differences. Tirsch exhibits a scene more like a fantasy while Noël is focused on the dry realism of a far off outpost. Tirsch is proud of the mission he is building, Noël's expedition leader died of a fever outbreak. Tirsch is painting the mission while it was serving as a small trade center with the Manila Galleon, Noël is painting the mission after the significant changes brought about by the Jesuit expulsion. Tirsch's perspective is looking southwest towards the ocean while Noël's looks northwest towards the desert.
        While these differing perspectives might seem at odds with one another, they're both very important primary sources. No more should we expect any two people from the same community to describe it exactly the same way than two artists depict their community in painting or drawing the same way. Communities are complex spaces, and students of California history are often hampered by a dearth of sources to tell their stories. Valuable information can be derived from both artists. Both contain accuracies, both contain biases, both contain important information from eye witnesses. And, perhaps most importantly, both artists produced stunningly beautiful images that have offered me years of intrigue and enjoyment.

A Final Note on AI and Photo Editing Tools
        It seems to me that the best approach for scholars using historical art is to get the highest quality digital rendering possible of the primary source. Using AI and photo filters and enhancements can be helpful to illuminate important details or even suggest subjects that were previously obscure. Even so, one must always keep in mind that these tools are themselves biased by the data sets they use to conjure details within the images. A policy of reverting back to the primary source image to make statements of fact about what is depicted should be a rule. Finally, the exact process that was used to enhance the image should always be communicated to readers so that they can attempt to reproduce a similar image and possibly trace what datasets were used to create it. This includes the date that these AI enhancements were done so that there is some reference point for what data set may have been used in the process. For reference, I used AI Photo Enhancer & Upscaler to process these photos on 8/1/2025.

Preview
Just as a preview - I plan on doing more AI enhancements of historical material from Alta California in a future post. For now, please see this preview in this copy from the early 1790s of Duché de Vancy’s drawing of Mission San Carlos Borromeo in 1786 during the La Pérouse Expedition. This is the earliest depiction of today's state of California that is not created by an Indigenous person.




Please see the following links for more on the San Juan Capistrano Visitor Series:

Part 5: The Otter Trade and the First U.S. Citizens in Orange County
Part 6: The Great Stone Church (A future post)
Part 9: Secularization and End of the Mission Era in Capistrano (A future post)
Part 10: Richard Henry Dana at Dana Point

Please see the following links for Mission San Juan Capistrano - Dating the Artifacts Series: