Broadsheet showing the perpetrators of the crime on Profesa Street on their way to San Juan de Ulua
Medium
Type-metal engraving and letterpress on buff paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 15 3/4 × 11 13/16 in. (40 × 30 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
46.46.262
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, printmaker José Guadalupe Posada, in collaboration with publisher Antonio Van Arroyo, produced vibrant broadsheets like this one from around 1891. Titled *Broadsheet showing the of the crime on Prof Street on their way to Juan de Ulua*, it depicts men—likely the criminals—being transported by boat to the notorious San Juan de Ulúa prison Veracruz, a fortress-turned-penitentiary off Mexico's coast. These affordable prints captured public attention with sensational true-crime stories, blending news, illustration, and text to inform and entertain the masses. Crafted usi...
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...