Broadsheet relating to a young girl who was beheaded while her father Tomás Sánchez left her at home alone
Medium
Zincograph and letterpress on tan paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 13/16 × 7 7/8 in. (30 × 20 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1946
Accession Number
46.46.470
Tags
Art Historical Context
This chilling broadsheet from around 1902 captures a tragic real-life crime in Mexico: the beheading of a young girl home alone by her father, Sánchez. Produced by master printmaker José Guadalupe Posada publisher Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, it exemplifies the sensational "calaveras" and "corridos ilustrados"—illustrated ballads recounting murders, disasters, and moral tales for the masses. Posada's stark, skeletal imagery and dramatic vignettes turned everyday horrors into gripping public spectacles, blending news with folklore. Printed via zincograph (a zinc-plate lithography technique for shar...
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...