Broadsheet with image of Saint Antony of Padua

Art Historical Context

In the early 20th century, Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada, in collaboration with publisher Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, created broadsheets like this one featuring Saint Antony of Padua. Produced around 1900–1910, this type-metal engraving and letterpress print on buff paper served as an affordable devotional aid for the working class. Saint Antony, a beloved 13th-century Franciscan friar known for his eloquence and miracles—including preaching to fish—holds immense cultural importance in Mexico, where he invoked as the patron saint of lost objects and the poor. Posada's bold, high-contrast style, rooted in popular folk art traditions, made religious imagery accessible and dramatic, blending piety with everyday storytelling. Broadsheets were a staple of Mexican print culture, distributed in markets and streets to illustrate corridos (ballads), news, and saints' lives, democratizing art during a time of social upheaval leading to the Mexican Revolution. The meticulous type-metal engraving—carved into metal for sharp relief printing—combined with letterpress text, highlights the technical ingenuity of Posada's workshop. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this 15 15/16 × 12 in. sheet exemplifies how Posada's prolific output (over 20,000 prints) captured Mexico's spiritual and cultural pulse for the masses.

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...