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
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
- 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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