Broadside with 48 scenes relating to zarzuela(?) 'los infiernos de Madrid'
1871
Medium
Wood engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 17 5/16 in. × 13 in. (44 × 33 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Max G. Wildnauer Fund, 1978
Accession Number
1978.643.58(2)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant chaos of 19th-century Madrid with this captivating wood engraving by José María Marés, in 1871. Titled *Broadside with 48 relating to zarzuela 'los infiernos de Madrid'*, large sheet (17 5/16 × 13 inches) serves as a dynamic visual compendium, likely promoting or illustrating a zarzuela—a lively Spanish musical theater genre blending comedy, satire, and song. The title evokes "The Hells of Madrid," suggesting a humorous or critical portrayal of the city's underbelly, filled with vignettes of men and women navigating urban temptations, follies, and daily life. Wood engrav...
About the Artist
José María Marés · 1850–1870
José María Marés was a Spanish printer, publisher, and broadside producer active in Madrid from approximately 1850 to 1870. Operating first from addresses on the Calle de Relatores and later from the Plazuela de la Cebada under the imprint Imprenta de Marés y Compañía, he ran one of the more prolific popular-print establishments in mid-nineteenth-century Madrid. His presses produced illustrated br...