The Eye Mexico is in Mexico.
After dying in obscurity and being buried in an unmarked grave over a century ago, José Guadalupe Posada, must smile with some irony this time of year at his enduring popularity as Dias de los Muertos begins again. Whether you recognize the name, the work of Posada, who was born the seventh son to working class parents of Indian descent in Aguascalientes in 1852, has left an indelible fingerprint on the Mexican culture and continues to shape art, design, politics and spirit in the country.
Even those who are casual observers of art will recognize the work for which he is most known and which forms a fixture in the imagery of this Mexican holiday celebrated every Nov 1st and 2nd. His engraved illustrations of Calaveras (skeletons and skulls) helped transform Dias de los Muertos from a morbid practice of mourning, to a celebration of life. A prolific artist, illustrator and printer, Posada created over 20,000 drawings during his lifetime. Perhaps the most famous is the “The Skull of the Female Dandy”- “Calavera de la Catrina”. Posada portrays “The Catrina” as a fleshless skull topped with a fancy wide brimmed bonnet replete with large billowing feathers meant to satirize the life of the upper class, the bourgeois during the reign of Porfirio Diaz.
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