Moncada 11 - Palacio de justicia

1973

Not on view

This print is one of a series of twenty that René Mederos produced in Cuba in 1973 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Fidel Castro’s attack on the country’s second largest military garrison, known as the Moncada Barracks. Cited historically as the opening salvo of the Cuban Revolution (1953–59), the Castro regime’s narrative of events surrounding the attack was intimately familiar to most Cubans at the time of the series’ production. What may appear today as insignificant details in the prints’ compositions, would have been recognized immediately by many in Cuba at the time as key to the official narrative of events. The series takes its name from a celebrated speech Castro delivered at his 1953 trial for masterminding the attack, echoing his assertion that "History will absolve me" by depicting the failed attack on the garrison as a catalyst for the revolution that succeeded in overthrowing the government of Fulgencia Batista six years later. Drawing on multiple artistic styles allowed Mederos to maximize the works’ visual effect and lends a certain rhythm to the experience of viewing them in sequence. In some prints, narrative figuration drives the story forward, while in others, greater formal experimentation encourages the viewer to pause and consider the broader stakes of the history in question.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Moncada 11 - Palacio de justicia
Artist: René Mederos (Cuban, Sagua La Grande 1933–1996 Havana)
Date: 1973
Medium: Screenprint
Dimensions: 23 1/4 × 27 13/16 in. (59.1 × 70.6 cm)
Classification: Silkscreen Prints
Object Number: 2025.669
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Moncada 5 – Los uniformes