Mexican prints

Bold silhouettes, energetic figures and words printed beside an image made the Mexican broadside a vivid form of popular communication. This selection centers on José Guadalupe Posada, whose inexpensive prints addressed news, entertainment and everyday life. His animated skeletons, or calaveras, turn familiar behavior into satire. Read the gestures alongside the caption or verse: the sheet was made to communicate with a public audience, and its graphic language influenced later Mexican and Chicanx artists. Connected places: Mexico City.

• Ponciano Díaz and His Charros in MadridManuel Manilla, 1889
• The BicycleJosé Guadalupe Posada, 1895
• Grand Electric CalaveraJosé Guadalupe Posada, 1907
• Revolutionary CalaveraJosé Guadalupe Posada, c. 1910
• Electric Light ArrivesManuel Manilla, 1900
• The "Typical"José Guadalupe Posada, c. 1894
• The Mausoleum of All the Calaveras That Are Found in a HeapJosé Guadalupe Posada, 1905
• The Rebel Calavera of the Federal Army, Merchants, and ArtisansJosé Guadalupe Posada, September 1911
• Gift from CalaverasJosé Guadalupe Posada, 1910
• The Calavera of the Peoples' Editor Antonio Vanegas ArroyoJosé Guadalupe Posada, 1902
• The StreetcleanersJosé Guadalupe Posada, 1890/99
• Pretty GirlsJosé Guadalupe Posada, c. 1911
• Unusual Occurence! An Evil Spirit in the Form of a Beautiful WomanJosé Guadalupe Posada, 1910
• Hand-me-downs of the DandiesJosé Guadalupe Posada, 1890–99
• Heartfelt PleasJosé Guadalupe Posada, 1890–99
• The CometJosé Guadalupe Posada, 1899, published 1910