Portfolio: 'Popol-Vuh' containing ten colour lithographs together with a four-page title and explanatory text in English and Spanish, housed in a stiff orange cover

Publisher Talleres Gráficos de la Nación, Mexico, D.F.

1943

Not on view

The Popol-Vuh is a sacred Maya text written in the Quiché (K'iche) language that is an account of creation. It was first recorded in the sixteenth century. Each print in the portfolio is accompanied by a thin sheet of paper that contains a translated text from the Popol-Vuh in Spanish and English. Mérida referred to the biomorphic forms seen in these prints as 'free poetic versions of mythological wonders' that he combined with bright colours and abstract elements to reflect the poetic quality of the text. The group was printed and published in Mexico in 1943, and this set is 156 from an edition of 1000.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Portfolio: 'Popol-Vuh' containing ten colour lithographs together with a four-page title and explanatory text in English and Spanish, housed in a stiff orange cover
Artist: Carlos Mérida (Guatemalan, Guatemala City 1891–1984 Mexico City)
Publisher: Talleres Gráficos de la Nación, Mexico, D.F.
Date: 1943
Dimensions: 16 15/16 × 12 13/16 in. (43 × 32.5 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Jean Charlot, 1944
Object Number: 44.69
Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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An Otomi woman from the state of Puebla, plate 17 from "Trajes Regionales Mexicanos" (Regional Mexican Dress), Carlos Mérida Mexican, Silkscreen — An Otomi woman from the state of Puebla, plate 17 from "Trajes Regionales Mexicanos" (Regional Mexican Dress)
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Two Otomi women from the state of Mexico, plate 10 from "Trajes Regionales Mexicanos" (Regional Mexican Dress), Carlos Mérida Mexican, Color silkscreen — Two Otomi women from the state of Mexico, plate 10 from "Trajes Regionales Mexicanos" (Regional Mexican Dress)
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A fisherman from Pátzcuaro in the state of Michoacán, plate 12 from "Trajes Regionales Mexicanos" (Regional Mexican Dress), Carlos Mérida Mexican, Silkscreen — A fisherman from Pátzcuaro in the state of Michoacán, plate 12 from "Trajes Regionales Mexicanos" (Regional Mexican Dress)
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A young Creole woman from the state of Guerrero, plate 8 from "Trajes Regionales Mexicanos" (Regional Mexican Dress), Carlos Mérida Mexican, Silkscreen — A young Creole woman from the state of Guerrero, plate 8 from "Trajes Regionales Mexicanos" (Regional Mexican Dress)
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