Broadsheet relating to the execution of a murderer named Dionisio Silverio, a firing squad in the upper section

Art Historical Context

This striking broadsheet from around 1903 captures a grim moment in Mexican history: the execution by firing squad of Dionisio Silverio, a convicted murderer. Created by the renowned printmaker José Guadalupe Pos in collaboration with publisher Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, it features a dramatic upper-section illustration of the squad amid text narrating the event. Pos, a master of Mexico's popular print tradition, used his signature bold, folk-inspired style—crisp lines and high-contrast imagery—to make sensational news accessible to the masses. Printed via type-metal engraving and letterpress on modest tan paper (measuring about 12 × 8 inches), this ephemera exemplifies early 20th-century corridos ilustrados: affordable broadsheets blending ballads, news, and stark visuals. During Porfirio Díaz's long presidency, such prints chronicled crimes, disasters, and executions, serving as visual journalism for illiterate audiences in a pre-photography era. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this work highlights Posada's enduring influence on graphic arts, from Day of the Dead calaveras to modern posters. It invites reflection on how art documented justice—and spectacle—in turbulent times.

About the Artist

José Guadalupe Posada|Antonio Vanegas Arroyo · 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...