The American mosquito that just appeared in Mexico
ca. 1903
Medium
Type-metal engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 1/4 × 5 1/8 in. (8.2 × 13 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Jean Charlot, 1930
Accession Number
30.82.24
Tags
Art Historical Context
José Guadalupe Posada, a pioneering Mexican printmaker, created *The American Mosquito that Just Appeared in Mexico* around 1903 using type-metal engraving, a relief printing technique that allowed for inexpensive, mass-produced broadsheets. This small print (3 1/4 × 5 1/8 in.) exemplifies Posada's signature bold, black-and-white style, characterized by stark contrasts and dynamic lines, which made his satirical works accessible to everyday people during Mexico's Porfiriato era under dictator Porfirio Díaz. The title cleverly employs the mosquito as a metaphor for an intrusive "American" pres...
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...