PRONUNCIATION: La Calavera Oaxaqueña

DATE

Year: 1907

Decade: 1900s

Century: 20th (1901-2000)

The Calavera Oaxaqueña. An iconic image second only to “La Catrina”. The calavera oaxaqueña has been reproduced a million of times and has been printed in ties, shirts, hats, etc. But the original print is one of the hardest ones to find!Print shows a male skeleton dressed in a charro outfit wielding a machete among skulls and skeletons. Includes song lyrics and cartoon skeleton figures. Calaveras (skulls) are connected with the Mexican Día de los Muertos, and Posada was the acknowledged master of the imagery of calaveras. This image is named Calavera oaxaqueña (the skull from Oaxaca).

ARTISTS

Name: Jose Guadalupe Posada
Type: Artist
Artist Information: José Guadalupe Posada (February 2, 1852 – January 20, 1913) was a Mexican political printmaker and engraver whose work has influenced many Latin American artists and cartoonists because of its satirical acuteness and social engagement. He used skulls, calaveras, and skeletons to make political and cultural critiques. Among his famous works was La Catrina. In spite of his varied and popular work, Posada was not as recognized as other contemporary artists. It wasn't until his death that his aesthetic as a true folk artist was recognized. This was largely thanks to Diego Rivera, who gave great publicity to his work. Yet even by that point in time, countless masses across Mexico would have immediately recognized his popular imagery. In fact, many illiterate citizens relied upon Posada's artistic renderings of current events and political messages to gauge the sociopolitical climate of their era. And an even greater audience viewed his signature calaveras—the iconic images of grinning skeletons commonly associated with the Mexican Day of the Dead—as deeply rooted cultural symbols which doubled as timely social reportage.