A man executed by garroting in the town square at Mixalco

Art Historical Context

José Guadalupe Posada, a pioneering Mexican printmaker (1852–1913), captured the raw drama of everyday life and sensational events in his prolific zincographs—relief prints etched on zinc plates for affordable, high-volume reproduction in newspapers and broadsides. Created around 1880–1910, *A Man Executed by Garroting in the Town Square at Mixco* depicts a public execution by strangulation, a grim punishment still practiced in parts of Latin America during this era. The small-scale sheet (3 7/16 × 5 11/16 in.) crowds with onlookers, emphasizing the spectacle's communal horror amid a watchful mob of men. Posada's bold, black-and-white style, rooted in 19th-century Mexican graphic journalism, transformed tragic news into stark social commentary. Zincography allowed his vivid, unflinching images to reach wide audiences via tabloids like *La Patria Ilustrada*, blending artistry with reportage. This piece reflects the era's turbulent politics and public fascination with crime and justice in places like Mixalco, Guatemala. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Jean Charlot, 1930), Posada's work foreshadows modern Mexican muralism and Día de los Muertos iconography, reminding us of art's power to confront mortality and authority.

About the Artist

José Guadalupe Posada · 1852–1913

José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913) was a Mexican printmaker and engraver who revolutionized popular art and created some of the most iconic images in Mexican culture. Working primarily with publisher Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, he produced over 20,000 images during his career—inexpensive broadsheets sold for a penny on colored paper that made his art accessible to even the poorest workers. He transform...