Jose Posada

I love this book! This is my first introduction to Mexican "popular art" (as opposed to "fine art", I suppose). Posada was active for about forty years, from the 1870s to his death in 1913, influencing more famous artists such as Orozco and Rivera. Deceptively folkloric in style, this collection of engravings and etchings includes advertisements; satirical and political cartoons; illustrations from newspapers, broadsides, corridos (popular narrative songs) and inexpensive books; and especially calaveras (skeletons imitating people). The often-lurid subjects include disasters, accidents, freak births, crimes, executions, and fairy tales. Many of the moralistic scenes include satanic creatures with horns and tails.… (mehr)