¡Terrible y verdadera noticia! (Terrible and Real News!)

Art Historical Context

José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican printmaker, created *¡Terrible y verdadera! (Terrible and News!)* in 1910, a pivotal year marking the onset of the Mexican Revolution. This relief etching on tan wove paper exemplifiesada's signature style of satirical broadsheets, often featuring calaveras—skeletal figures drawn from Mexican folk traditions like Día de los Muertos. Through these macabre yet humorous images, Posada critiqued social inequalities, political corruption, and the elite under Porfirio Díaz's long regime, making art accessible to the working class via inexpensive newsprint. The title's exclamation of "Terrible and Real News!" underscores Posada's role as a visual journalist, blending current events with mordant wit to expose harsh realities. Printed at roughly 10 x 6 inches, this piece from the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings collection highlights relief etching's efficiency: ink adheres to raised surfaces for quick, high-contrast reproduction on presses, ideal for mass distribution in Mexico City's bustling streets. Posada's influence endures as a cornerstone of Mexican graphic art, inspiring later muralists like Diego Rivera. This work invites visitors to reflect on how art wields power as both mirror and weapon in times of upheaval, its stark lines still resonating with timeless truths about mortality and justice.

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...