Posada: Printmaker for the People

Albuquerque Museum presents a Virtual Curator Talk
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Mexico City underwent intense political, economic, and cultural change through a long campaign of modernization and exploitation by then president Porfirio Díaz. The era ended with one of the most important revolutions in history: the Mexican Revolution. It was also a moment when the graphic arts were a vehicle through which the people of Mexico engaged with the political and everyday events of their time.

Dr. Josie Lopez discusses how José Guadalupe Posada became one of the most important printmakers of the day through the prints that he created to illustrate current events, literature, politics, popular broadsides, board games, and more. He created his own visual language that represented the culture and politics of Mexico and influenced later artists particularly through his signature depictions of calaveras, skeletal figures that have subsequently associated with Day of the Dead.

José Guadalupe Posada: Legendary Printmaker of Mexico
On view at Albuquerque Museum December 19, 2020–May 23, 2021
This exhibition recognizes Posada’s cultural contributions, which reflect the spirit of Mexican identity in his time and ours and imparts a universal perspective extending well beyond the borders of his native Mexico.
cabq.gov/posada