José Guadalupe Posada: Legendary Printmaker of Mexico Opens September 1 at Carlsbad Museum

Carlsbad Museum will open José Guadalupe Posada: Legendary Printmaker of Mexico on September 1. The exhibition will remain on view through December 31.

José Guadalupe Posada was one of Mexico’s most influential printmakers. Working during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he created thousands of illustrations depicting the news, politics, and everyday life in Mexico. Today, he is probably best known for his calaveras, or skeleton figures. More than a century later, their influence can still be seen in Día de los Muertos imagery and popular culture around the world, including everything from the Grateful Dead to Disney and Pixar’s Coco.

Posada was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico, in 1852 and learned lithography and engraving as a young apprentice. He went on to produce an estimated 20,000 or more images during his career. His subjects ranged from political satire and current events to crimes, disasters, songs, stories, and scenes from everyday life.

His work was widely circulated during his lifetime, but Posada never received the recognition as an artist that he would after his death. He died poor in 1913 and was buried in an unmarked grave. In the following decades, artists including Jean Charlot and Diego Rivera helped bring new attention to his work and establish his place in the history of Mexican art.

The bilingual exhibition at Carlsbad Museum includes more than 70 works. Visitors will see Posada’s political and popular illustrations, his famous calaveras, and examples showing how his work continued to influence later artists and popular culture.

“One of the things we always try to do at Carlsbad Museum is help visitors connect art and history with the world they live in today,” said Edward VanScotter, Director of Carlsbad Museum. “I think that connection is especially easy to make with Posada.

“These works are more than 100 years old, but a lot of what he was commenting on still feels very familiar,” he continued. “You see the divide between the rich and the poor, between the government and the people, and concerns about how new technology was changing society. Political cartoonists are still talking about those same things today.

“His calaveras also look surprisingly contemporary. Posada played a huge role in developing the modern visual language of the calavera, and we still see that influence everywhere, especially in Día de los Muertos imagery and popular culture,” said VanScotter.

Much of Posada’s career was spent working with Mexico City publisher Antonio Vanegas Arroyo. From 1889 until Posada’s death in 1913, his illustrations appeared in inexpensive printed materials produced by Vanegas Arroyo’s publishing house. These publications covered news, politics, stories, and everyday life and were distributed to a broad audience. The partnership gave Posada a way to put his work in front of ordinary people at a time when Mexico was going through major social and political changes.

The Carlsbad Museum is planning additional programming in conjunction with José Guadalupe Posada: Legendary Printmaker of Mexico during its run. Dates and details will be announced as they become available.

José Guadalupe Posada: Legendary Printmaker of Mexico

The exhibition was organized by the Catalina Island Museum in association with the Posada Art Foundation. Museum tour organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA.

This exhibition is generously loaned by the Posada Art Foundation.

The Carlsbad Museum, 418 W. Fox St., is open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

For more information about the exhibition and upcoming programming, visit carlsbadmuseum.org or call 575-887-0276.