the head of a young woman with dark hair, in woodcut style, facing the viewer with a bold expression
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART BULLETIN | VOLUME 82 | NUMBER 1

Mexican Prints at the Vanguard

2024
48 pages
57 illustrations
8.5 x 11 in
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Featuring more than fifty works by artists such as José Guadalupe Posada, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and Leopoldo Méndez, this issue of the Bulletin explores the rich artistic legacy of printmaking in Mexico from the mid-eighteenth to mid-twentieth century. Curator Mark McDonald traces the origins of The Met’s remarkable holdings of nearly two thousand Mexican prints first collected by the French-born artist Jean Charlot, who had been active in Mexico when the art form rose in prominence amid concerns of national identity following the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). Highlighting a variety of styles and techniques, including silkscreen, letterpress, and woodcut, this vibrantly illustrated publication offers a richer understanding of Mexican prints through an analysis of how they were used as modes of political expression, education, and resistance in Mexico.

In proof of true love, a watercarrier skeleton arguing with a woman (Posada); two skeleton angels in upper corners (Manilla), José Guadalupe Posada  Mexican, Type-metal engraving and letterpress on blue paper
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1890–1896
Thesis Proclamation of José Vicente Maldonado y Trespalacios, dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe, Baltasar Troncoso y Sotomayor  Mexican, Woodcut, letterpress and engraving (image of the Virgin) printed on white silk with a decorative metalic thread border backed with a panel of red silk.
Baltasar Troncoso y Sotomayor
Herederos de María de Rivera
1756
Mexico y sus Alrededores. Colección de monumentos, trajes y paisajes, Casimiro Castro  Mexican, Lithographs and letterpress
Multiple artists/makers
1855–56
'People deserve bad political leaders when they tolerate them', caricature no. 46 from 'San Baltasar' (July 1873). A bound volume of caricatures and political satires from the Mexican newspapers 'La orquesta',  'El Padre Cobos', and 'San Baltasar: periódico chusco, amante de decir bromas y grocerias, afecto a las convivialidades, y con caricaturas', Constantino Escalante  Mexican, Lithograph
Multiple artists/makers
1865–1873
Head a young woman facing the viewer, from the portfolio 'Los pequeños grabadores en madera, alumnos de la Escuela Preparatoria de Jalisco' (Guadalajara, Mexico 1925)., María Marín de Orozco  Mexican, Woodcut
María Marín de Orozco
ca. 1924
Poster for an exhibition of student art from nine open air schools, Gabriel Fernández Ledesma  Mexican, Woodcut, letterpress in red and black, backed with linen
Gabriel Fernández Ledesma
Talleres Gráficos de la Nación, Mexico, D.F.
1929
Masthead from 'El Machete', David Alfaro Siqueiros  Mexican, Photo-relief and letterpress
David Alfaro Siqueiros
1924
The Trinity of Scoundrels (or the Shameless Trinity) from 'El Machete', David Alfaro Siqueiros  Mexican, Woodcut and letterpress on purple paper
David Alfaro Siqueiros
1924
Rich people in hell, Jean Charlot  French, Woodcut on thin paper, backed to a cardboard support
Jean Charlot
1924
Illustration for 'El Machete' concerning agrarian reform (repartition of the laws pertaining to land ownership), Xavier Guerrero  Mexican, Woodcut on Japan paper
Xavier Guerrero
1924
Urbe: super-poema bolchevique en 5 cantos (Urbe: Bolshevik Super-poem in 5 Parts), Manuel Maples Arce  Mexican, Woodcut illustrations
Multiple artists/makers
1924
'Great  Builders' (figures engaged in building a pyramid), Jean Charlot  French, Lithograph
Jean Charlot
George C. Miller
1930
Poster advertising an exhibition of work by young Mexican artists 'of the revolution' held at the Casa de Vacas in Retiro Park, Madrid, June 1929, Gabriel Fernández Ledesma  Mexican, Woodcut, letterpress
Gabriel Fernández Ledesma
1929
New York at night, a ship leaving the port, from the portfolio '15 Grabados en madera' (Madrid 1929), Gabriel Fernández Ledesma  Mexican, Woodcut
Gabriel Fernández Ledesma
1929 (published 1929)
Emiliano Zapata, Diego Rivera  Mexican, Lithograph
Multiple artists/makers
1932
A young man carrying a cage on his back, set within a thick border, Mauricio  Mexican, Woodcut on Japan paper
Mauricio
ca. 1920–28
The Revolutionist (a man holding a rifle viewed from behind), Rufino Tamayo  Mexican, Woodcut on Japan paper
Rufino Tamayo
ca. 1929–30
Front cover to 'Siqueiros 13 Grabados', David Alfaro Siqueiros  Mexican, Woodcut on orange paper pasted to the cover
David Alfaro Siqueiros
William Spratling
1930
Poster advertising an exhibition (20 April–4 May) of photographs by Mexican photographer Agustín Jiménez, woodcut image of the artist next to his camera, Gabriel Fernández Ledesma  Mexican, Woodcut, letterpress, printed in red and black, backed with linen
Gabriel Fernández Ledesma
ca. 1929
Poster warning of the dangers of fetal alcohol syndrome, Carlos Orozco Romero  Mexican, Woodcut, letterpress, in orange and black, backed with linen
Carlos Orozco Romero
Talleres Gráficos de la Nación, Mexico, D.F.
Ca. 1928–1930
Showing 20 of 45

View Citations

McDonald, Mark. “Mexican Prints at the Vanguard.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 82, no. 1 (2024).