Very Extravagant Verses
Medium
Double-sided relief engraving on typemetal on paper
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
52309
Art Historical Context
José Guadalupe Posada's *Very Extravagant Verses* (1903) is a captivating example of early 20th-century Mexican printmaking, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings collection. Posada, a Mexican artist and illustrator (1852–1913), was renowned for his satirical broadsheets that blended sharp social commentary with the macabre imagery of *calaveras*—skeletal figures mocking the elite and everyday life. Created during Mexico's Porfirio Díaz era, this double-sided work likely features extravagant, humorous verses paired with Posada's signature bold, folk-inspired illustration...
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...