Importing Monsters The Influence of Fran PDF

Importing
Monsters:
The Influence of Francisco Goya on
José Guadalupe Posada
[Revised/Supplemented]
Eric Mai

INTRODUCTION
Influence and inspiration comes to us in many forms. For artists, many times it
comes to them by way of their predecessors. It affects their style, their way of thought, and
their technique among other things. Numerous artists have and will openly cite the
influence of previous artists, while some even go as far as making overt references to other
artist’s works in their own works. In the case of many acclaimed Mexican artists of the
early twentieth century, they would do both.
The famous Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco wrote of one particular artist
that had a profound impact on him in his autobiography:
[José Guadalupe] Posada used to work in full view, behind the shop windows,
and on my way to school and back, four times a day, I would stop and spend a few
enchanted minutes in watching him…
This was the push that first set my imagination in motion and impelled me to
cover paper with my earliest little figures; this was my awakening to the existence of
the art of painting.1
The influence of Posada would be evident in Orozco’s striking and melodramatic style of
painting, as seen in The Epic of American Civilization [Figure 1], but the influence of Posada
on Diego Rivera would be even more blatant. The presence of Posada is unmistakable in
Rivera’s 1946 mural entitled Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park [Figure 2]. This
large-‐scale mural was intended to commemorate Mexican history and features several
prominent figures that played a part in that history. However, the central figure of this

1 Orozco, José Clemente. An Autobiography. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1962, 8.

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mural is a fashionably dressed skeleton woman known as a catrina, which was a creation of
Posada’s meant to satirize the upper classes of Mexican society. But Rivera adapts the
catrina for the purposes of his mural. He depicts her as the mother of Mexico, while
depicting himself to the left of her as a young boy and even Posada, himself, to the right of
her in a suit and bowler hat. While the influence of Posada on Orozco and Rivera is well
documented, the art and artists that influenced Posada is not. Early Mexican lithographers
no doubt influenced him, while a careful examination of his works bears indications of a
familiarity with “European avant-‐garde artists, specifically Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet,
and Henri de Toulouse-‐Lautrec.”2 However, many fail to acknowledge the influence of one
prominent and pioneering artist on Posada. This paper will demonstrate how several of
Posada’s works show an influence from the eighteenth-‐century Spanish painter and
printmaker Francisco Goya. . In several of his works, Posada adopted an artistic style that
draws greatly from several of Goya’s series such as Los Caprichos, The Disasters of War, and
The Black Paintings. A visual and contextual analysis of these images will show a clear
connection between Posada and Goya.
POSADA
Born in 1852 in Aguascaliente, Mexico, José Guadalupe Posada would produce
thousands of plates chronicling the events in Mexico that surrounded him.3 He is best
known today for his calaveras; cartoonish and satirical skeletal figures that would become
synonymous with the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration. But of the thousands of plates

2 Stavans, Illan. “José Guadalupe Posada, Lampooner,” in The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Vol.
16, (Summer, 1990), 57.

3 Patrick Frank and José Guadalupe Posada, Posada’s Broadsheets: Mexican Popular Imagery, 1890-1910
(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998), 5.
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he created, these skulls and skeletons only stand for about 2% of his remaining work.4 The
great majority of his work would be of gruesome murders, natural disasters, executions,
heroes, bandits, and major political and social events of late nineteenth-‐century and early
twentieth-‐century Mexico. His simple but bold graphic style would be printed upon
magazines, book covers, and broadsheets and sold to an eager Mexican public. Posada’s
graphic style and subject matter would lead many to dub him the “father of modern
Mexican art.”5 With his delicate line work and satirical treatment of a wide spectrum of
subject matters, Posada truly was an innovator. He was a pioneer in graphic arts because
of his ability, whether conscious or not, to create distinct modern Mexican iconography.
However, recognition would not come until after Posada’s death in 1913.
It was only during the 1920s when artists of the Mexican muralist movement
rediscovered Posada’s work and found inspiration in it.6 In his style they saw a populist
flair that coincided with their movement.7 Many of these muralists, such as Orozco and
Rivera, claimed to have witnessed Posada at work or to have seen Posada’s original prints,
but primary sources on Posada are lacking. Posada left no personal written records and no
contemporary art critics wrote about him.8 The lack of information on Posada has led
many to speculate through his surviving body of work on what his personal political and
social views were, as well as his tastes or knowledge in fine arts. His workshop walls
adorned with lithographs of French can-‐can dancers, portraits of female musical theater

4 Mercurio López Casillas and Gregory Dechant, La muerte en el impreso mexicano = Images of death in
Mexican prints, (Mexico: Editorial RM, 2005), 60.

5 Diane Helen Miliotes and José Guadalupe Posada, José Guadalupe Posada and the Mexican Broadside = José
Guadalupe Posada Y La Hoja Volante Mexicana, (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2006), 3.
6 Frank, Posada’s Broadsheets, 232-‐233.
7 The Mexican Muralist movement was a period where many Mexican artists sought to turn to Mexican
history and its artistic tradition. This movement also involved many Marxist ideals that were a reaction to
post-‐revolutionary Mexico.
8 Ibid., 7.
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stars, and a print of Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment.9 But aside from these works, there
are no definitive clues to what art Posada enjoyed or was directly influenced by. The work
of his Mexican lithographer predecessors undeniably played a factor in his education and
inspiration, and the influence of previously mentioned European artists (Manet, Degas,
etc.) can be deduced from an analysis of Posada’s body of work. But the influence of Goya
has been all but ignored.
WHY GOYA?
The information that exists on Posada’s life only consists of basic biographical
information. Unfortunately there has yet to be discovered any personal written materials,
such as journals or sketchbooks, that could offer any insight into his personal thoughts and
feelings. Nonetheless, it is known that he had an artistic upbringing. As an adolescent,
Posada studied drawing with his older brother who was a primary school teacher. In his
teens, Posada would apprentice at the lithography shop of José Trinidad Pedroza, where he
would produce his first political cartoons.10 He would later enroll in the State Academy of
Arts and Trades; there he learned from the copying of French lithographic prints.11
His adult years would lead him to León, Mexico, where for four years during a
sixteen-‐year stay, Posada would teach lithography at a secondary school.12 However after a
flood there, Posada would move to Mexico City in 1888 to set up his own print shop.13 In
Mexico City, Posada abandoned his lithographic training and instead adopted engraving

9 Ibid.
10 Miliotes, José Guadalupe Posada, 10.
11 José Guadalupe Posada, José Lebrero Stals and Ramón Reverté, Posada: Mexican engraver, (Seville, Centro
Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, 2008), 46-‐47.

12 Frank, Posada’s Broadsheets, 5.
13 Ibid.
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and etching. Engraving and etching allowed for “illustrations that could be set with type…
quickly and cheaply produced, and could sustain large print runs.”14 With these qualities in
engraving and etching and Posada’s skill, the editor Antonio Vanegas Arroyo quickly
retained the printing services of Posada for his broadsheet illustrations.
The fact that Posada taught lithography suggests that his printing skills and
education were quite sufficient. Moreover, Mexico was deeply involved with the major
European powers throughout the nineteenth century. Between 1861 to 1867, French
troops occupied Mexico under the orders of Napoleon the III in an attempt to create a
North American French sphere of influence. Despite Napoleon the III and Mexican
monarchists’ ability to install Maximilian I, a Hapsburg, as Emperor of Mexico, their plans
met their demise due to a persistent Mexican resistance to a monarchy, opposition by the
United States, as well as conflicts back in Europe. In spite of the opposition to French
sovereignty, European and particularly French culture lingered in Mexico. From 1876 to
1911, Mexico experienced a period of cultural influx from Spain and France under the
presidency of Porifirio Díaz.15 The upper echelon’s of Mexican society were “[f]rancophile,
Europeanized, ate French food, dressed in French style, [and] spoke French…”16 With these
European influences there is no doubt that European art, in the form of prints, arrived in
Mexico as well. Although Posada was not of the Mexican upper class, he was well off. A
surviving picture of him shows him in front of his shop dressed in a suit and looking like a
man who could eat quite well [Figure 3]. Furthermore, his wage of three pesos a day under

15 Frank, Posada’s Broadsheets, 10, 14.
16 Ibid., 10.
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Vanegas Arroyo was enough to afford him annual time at a vacation home.17 Such
information hints at a disposable income. As an artist and craftsman, Posada may have
bought up European prints that he appreciated for their execution or simply found
interesting. In addition, by studying prints from Europe, Posada would be familiarizing
himself with the tastes of his consumers. Proof of Posada’s exposure to European prints
can be seen in the lotería, a game of chance brought over from Europe during Spain’s
colonization of Mexico. The game consisted of a sheet with a grid of images that would be
played much like Bingo.18 Posada produced his own version of the game sheet and adapted
many of the customary images used in the lottery to suit his Mexican consumers.19
The location of Posada’s shop also placed him in the proximity of fine art. Only a few
blocks from his shop in Mexico City was the Academy of San Carlos.20 The academy served
as an art academy as well as a museum, but once again, it is unknown whether Posada ever
entered this building. Regardless of the absence of such information it seems unlikely that
an artist like Posada would pass up the chance to view new examples of his craft. Viewing
the different techniques and compositions of other artists is a way of expanding one’s own
knowledge. Posada was a businessman and his newly adopted style in Mexico City was
geared towards making a quick profit, but his formal training in lithography no doubt gave
him an appreciation of fine art and technique. The aforementioned method of copying
French lithographs may have very well expanded to include prints of artists appreciated by
the French.

17 Ibid., 7.
18 Nieland, Sue Erickson. La Lotería: Una Ventana En La Cultura E Historia De México = Lotería : a Window on
the Culture and History of Mexico : [Exhibition] Sioux City Art Center, (Sioux City, Iowa: Sioux City Art Center,
2006), 14.
19 Ibid., 18.
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One such artist appreciated wholeheartedly by the French was Francisco Goya.
Goya (1746-‐1828) experienced a celebrated career as a court painter and portraitist for the
Spanish monarchy and nobility of the late eighteenth-‐century. He was a master of
portraiture, but at the same time he also depicted the evils of humanity. In 1799, Goya
published his first series of prints entitled Los Caprichos. With this series he became well
known and appreciated in France.21 In print, Goya would depict the gamut of Spanish
society: from bullfights, macabre scenes of witches, fantastical and imagined scenes
satirizing the vices of nobility and clergy, to the violence and destructive force of war.
From his experience with the French invasion of Spain (1808-‐1814) to his settling and
death in Bordeaux, France, Goya had deep ties with France. With his links to Spain, as well
as France, the proliferation of his work to Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico
and Díaz period is highly plausible. Goya would produce several print series, all of which
would see several reprints well into the years of Posada’s active print career.22 In addition,
Goya would also be the first major artist to try his hand at lithography in 1819.23
Therefore, with Posada’s formal training in lithography, it is quite conceivable that he had
knowledge of Francisco Goya and his works.
THE SLEEP OF REASON PRODUCES CRIMINALS
With Vanegas Arroyo, Posada produced illustrations for broadsheets. These single
sheet handbills were printed in mass and sold to citizens. With text and illustration, these

21 Pierre Gassier, Juliet Wilson and François Lachenal, The Life and Complete Work of Francisco Goya; With a
Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Drawings and Engravings, (New York: Reynal, in association with W.
Morrow, 1971), 125.
22 Ibid., 51-‐53.
23 Ibid., 308.
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handbills related events such as “murders and outrageous crimes, natural disasters, and
oddities unique to Mexico.”24 Not to be confused with news, the broadsheets were more
“human interest” stories than anything else.25 Topics to be printed were chosen by Arroyo
for their appeal to their major consumer: the “urban lower classes of Mexico.”26 The
content and the illustrations were directly aimed at Mexico City’s illiterate and semi-‐
illiterate, which made up a large part of its population.27 The sardonic and straightforward
style of Posada’s illustrations captured the imaginations of these Mexican citizens.
Simultaneously, these broadsheets were used as moralizing tales. A fair amount of
broadsheets involved horrific murders and crimes. The accompanying text would typically
tell the story of the crime, and then conclude with a moral that explained the cause of the
crime.28 In many cases, the cause amounted to irrational or immoral behavior that could
have easily been remedied.
Goya had preceded Posada in depicting gruesome images of senseless and
degenerate behavior. With a dark and surreal style, Goya published Los Caprichos in 1799.
These prints captured a world very few had ever seen, or even imagined. Los Caprichos, as
Goya titled them, were a series of eighty satirical prints.29 With this print series, Goya
satirized the foolhardiness and vices of Spanish society. Using hybrid creatures and ugly
disfigured human forms, he made light of Spanish culture and society: from the prevailing
belief in witchcraft to the ineffectual monarchy. But the overall theme of Los Caprichos was

24 Miliotes, José Guadalupe Posada,12.
26 Ibid., 19.
27Mercurio López Casillas and José Guadalupe Posada, José Guadalupe Posada: Illustrator of Chapbooks,
(Mexico City: Editorial RM, 2005), 86.

29 Janis A. Tomlinson and Francisco Goya, Graphic Evolutions: The Print Series of Francisco Goya, (New York:
Columbia University Press, 1989), 11-‐12.
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summed up in a single print. The print titled The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (1797)
depicts an artist sleeping at a table [figure 4]. In the wake of his sleeping state, bats, owls,
and a large cat have manifested themselves. The text that accompanied the print further
explained the meaning behind the image: “Imagination, deserted by reason, begets
impossible monsters. United with reason, she is the mother of all arts, and the source of
their wonders.”30 The image can be construed to have two very different meanings. The
imagination when unconstrained by reason is able to create freely, but at the same time the
absence of reason can unleash monsters of vice and evil. As a major figure in the Romantic
period, Goya challenged reason and classical thinking but also saw its value. Goya, a man
not averse to duality, understood that reason, especially moral reason, was key to the
staving off of evil.
In a previous painting, The Incantation (1797), Goya had depicted a group of
witches [Figure 5]. Owls fly above the witches’ heads as bats adorn the headdress of one
witch. The owls and bats were animals associated with witches in the Age of
Enlightenment. They represented the irrationality of superstition and essentially,
humanity.31 Goya uses these creatures as symbolic imagery. Here they are monsters that
reveal themselves in the absence of reason.32 Belief in witchcraft and such superstitious

30 Théophile Gautier, “Voyage en Espagne,” in Goya in Perspective, ed. Fred Licht, (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:
Prentice-‐Hall, 1973), 132.

31 Richard Schickel, The World of Goya, 1746-1828, (New York: Time-‐Life Books, 1968), 22.
32 In direct contrast, Goya is believed to be a major figure of the Romantic period. Romanticists rejected the
rationalist overthinking of the Age of Enlightenment, and put great emphasis on emotion and the aesthetic
gained from allowing one’s emotions to take over. Emotion coupled with imagination led to ideal landscapes
and images of the sublime. The absense of reason, in effect, led to wondrous and beautiful creations; free of
the rules and constraints of society. However, in the case of this print, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters,
I believe that Goya is emphasizing the absence of sanity and moral reason. The accompanying text clearly
states that it is imagination combined with reason that produces the “wonders” of art.
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was looked down upon in society at the time, and here Goya portrays this attitude with his
imagery and symbolism.
Posada would use the image of an owl only one time as a symbolic device. In
Guadalupe Bejarano En Las Bartolinas de Belen (Guadalupe Bejarano in the Belen Prison)
(1891), Posada depicts the female criminal Guadalupe Bejarano inside a room with her
tortured victim in the background [Figure 6]. Bejarano is depicted in the center
foreground, but to the left of her Goya depicts an owl. Patrick Frank characterizes the use
of the owl in his book on Posada’s broadsheets as a “traditional symbol of perfidy in
European art.”33 Bejarano, who would be convicted of torturing and killing the young girl
in the background, is a figure of immorality and malicious behavior. However, the print
does not convey this entirely. The viewer depends on previous knowledge of the story as
well as the employed symbols of the owl, snake, and skull on the floor to recognize from the
image that Bejarano is evil.34 The owl could be easily associated with its classical attributes
of wisdom and relation to the Greek goddess, Athena, however, the connection between the
use of Posada’s owl and Goya’s is clear here. Both artists utilize this nocturnal creature as a
symbol of irrationality and evil.
However, Posada would be forced to abandon such traditional symbols. The symbol
of the owl could be lost upon the illiterate and semi-‐literate of Mexico City due to its
ambiguous nature. Instead, flying demons and devils would be used to fill the areas around
criminals and murderers. The owl simply evolved into such creatures in order to better
convey the evil and senseless behavior of the perpetrators. These demonic creatures with

34 The symbols of the owl, snake, and skull have very different implications in Mexican indigenous culture.
For example, the snake is typically seen as a symbol of fertility, but in European culture it is associated with
evil. Here, in this print, Posada clearly uses these symbols for their European connotations.
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their horns, tails, monstrous faces, and sometimes wings could be undoubtedly interpreted
as evil beings, whereas an owl’s symbolic nature is less obvious [Figure 7 and 8]. Much like
the lotería, Posada adapted a European device to suit his customers. In this case, he
completely reinterpreted the symbol of the owl as it related to Goya to make its meaning
easily understood.
With Los Caprichos, Goya shows the gruesome product of abandoning reason and
morality in print as well as text. Like the broadsheets, Goya’s print series served as
cautionary tales. This similarity in concept may have easily been a reason for Posada to
turn to such representations of evil and immoral behavior. Such creatures do create a
dynamic and interesting picture, which would have likely increased sales, but at the same
time they bring forth a deeper moral meaning.
COINCIDENCE OR INFLUENCE?
The use of symbolic representations is not the only visual link between these artists.
In the process of creating these broadsheet illustrations, Posada would first be given the
story. Sometimes Posada would adapt newspaper illustrations or photographs for his
prints, but in most cases there were no materials to aid Posada.35 Consequently, the task of
visualizing murders and executions was left to Posada’s own devices. Crime was extremely
high in Mexico during Posada’s lifetime due to the weak Díaz government, but the horrific
and shocking crimes were more frequent in broadsheets than in reality.36 The thought that
Posada witnessed petty crimes is not beyond the realm of the impossible, but it is doubtful

35 Ibid.,15, 20.
36 Ibid., 19-‐21.
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that Posada witnessed a murder, or a brutal one at that. Posada would then have to rely on
previous depictions of such crimes and the text given to him by Arroyo.
One of the most shocking crimes that Posada would depict was a broadsheet
entitled Muy Interessante Noticia (Most Interesting News) (1911) [Figure 9 and 10]. The
crime was that of Antonio Sanchez. The text that accompanies the illustration tells the
story of a man who turns into an “appalling madman,” murders his family, and then
proceeds to eat his infant son. When the police arrived, Sanchez was found “tranquilly
devouring the body.” The image by Posada, in spite of the claims, portrays Sanchez in a
state of madness. Sanchez is placed in the center with legs bent at the knees, one leg pushed
in front of the other. His eyes are bulging and his hair stands up as if possessed by some
kind of supernatural force. With both hands he grasps the body of his son as he brings it up
to his mouth to eat. At Sanchez’s feet are the dead bodies of his parents, while flying
around his head are demons with bat-‐like wings, pointed tails, and wide-‐open screeching
beaks. 37 These monsters reiterate the loss of reason by Sanchez, but they are not the
strongest connection to Goya present in this image.
Illustrating the father eating the remains of his son would be the most eye-‐catching,
and thus profitable, scene to depict, but how could Posada imagine such a tragic and violent
event? The story is graphic and provides chilling details, but Posada was surely a man who
had never witnessed such acts. How does one eat their child? With a knife and fork? Like
an animal? Attempts to depict such an act surely would have proved difficult for Posada
had he not seen a similar image. It is here in the composition of Posada’s portrayal of

37 Ibid., 28.
13
Antonio Sanchez’s most horrendous act where the strongest evidence of Goya’s influence
lies.
The madness pictured in Antonio Sanchez uncannily resembles the madness that
Goya painted sometime between 1819 and 1823 on the wall of his own home. Saturn
Devouring his Son was one of Goya’s Black Paintings [Figure 11]. The painting shows the
ancient Roman deity Saturn, the father of many gods. Saturn feared that his children would
overthrow him, but to prevent his fears from coming true he swallowed each one of them.
Goya’s portrayal was unlike any that had preceded it. Traditional paintings and prints of
Saturn devouring his son had depicted a classical style Saturn. The version of Saturn
Devouring his Son (1636) completed by Peter Paul Rubens was one such example [Figure
12]. Rubens portrays Saturn as a man rather than monster. With a sickle in one hand and
in the other hand his son; Saturn is depicted as a man clearly aware of his actions. Rubens’s
version is devoid of the insanity present in Goya’s version.
With a blackened background, Goya pushes the monstrous and deformed body of
Saturn forward into the light. His legs bent at the knees, he clutches the body of his son,
holding it up towards his mouth. The composition of Saturn’s body is nearly identical to
that of Antonio Sanchez. Upon hearing the story of Antonio Sanchez, Posada may have
quickly recalled a depiction of the cannibalistic Saturn. Posada’s choice of Goya’s version
over the more traditional version such as Rubens’s was a matter of consumer appeal as
well as exhibiting the heinousness of the crime. With his wide-‐open eyes and violent grasp
on the body, Goya’s painting embodies the irrationality and insanity that one imagines
when told the story of Sanchez consuming the body of his son. The frightful image of
Goya’s Saturn is an image very few can forget once viewing it. Wanting to capture the
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madness and alarming nature of the crime, it is possible that Posada would have found
inspiration in Goya’s Saturn.
In the actual report, the body of Sanchez’s infant son was said to have been chopped
into four pieces, however Posada keeps the body fully intact. Certainly, Posada did this so
that what Sanchez was eating could be clearly discerned; just as Goya made the body
complete as well. Traditional depictions of Saturn have him holding a sickle; alluding to his
agricultural domain as he eats his son with his other hand. If Posada were to have been
influenced by any other portrayal of Saturn, he likely would have placed Sanchez’s hatchet,
while his other hand brings his son up to his mouth to eat. But like Goya, Posada employs
two hands to indicate a voracious and animalistic nature. The similarity between the two
figures continues to the expressions of each father. The wide-‐open eyes and arched
eyebrows on both figures intimate their manic nature. Posada forewent the provided
description of Sanchez “tranquilly” eating his son to adapt Goya’s image to this story. Doing
so creates an alarming image that, like Goya, is hard to ignore.
Those familiar with Goya’s Black Paintings may be questioning how they would have
been seen in Mexico. Saturn Devouring his Son was painted on the wall of his home outside
of Madrid. It was not intended to be seen by the public; rather it was a personal piece like
the other large murals that covered the room where this painting resided as well as the
room above it. The existence of these paintings were not known by the general public until
over forty years after Goya’s passing. The first article written on the paintings would be
published in 1868 by Gregorio Cruzada Vilaamil, while Laurent Mathéron would write the
first book on Goya in 1858. Mathéron’s book included descriptions of the Black Paintings,
15
but it would be Cruzada’s article that included an engraving of Goya’s Saturn.38 They would
later be transferred and restored to canvas in 1874, and exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of
1878.39 Whether any of these printed materials or engravings were transported to Mexico
remains uncertain. However, the resemblance of Posada’s image to Goya’s is much too
striking to be written off as coincidence. The period of time between the Black Paintings’
discovery and Posada’s use of Saturn Devouring his Son as a basis for the Antonio Sanchez
print is a time when such a case is highly probably. Nearly thirty years is ample time for a
print to be made of a painting and then to proliferate across the Atlantic Ocean. Having
been written about early in Posada’s childhood, the books and articles on Goya’s Black
Paintings may have been read by Posada early on in his life. The image of Saturn may have
stayed with him all those years until the story of Antonio Sanchez came to him, there in
turn the image of Saturn as depicted by Goya would have immediately came to mind.
The stark compositional similarities between these two images as well as their
subject matter stand as compelling evidence of Goya’s influence on Posada. Posada’s
training and education along with the inundation of European materials into Mexico allows
us to construct a strong hypothetical experience of what art Posada was privy to. Posada’s
use of symbols points towards a strong knowledge of traditional European iconography
and particularly those used by Francisco Goya. With such information, the possibility that
the similarities between Posada’s Antonio Sanchez and Goya’s Saturn were coincidence
remains highly improbable.

38 Glendinning, Nigel. “The Strange Translation of Goya's 'Black Paintings',” in The Burlington Magazine, Vol.
117, No. 868 (Jul., 1975), 466.

39 Schickel, The World of Goya, 170-‐172.
16
THE FIRING SQUADS
In discovering the similarities between the two previous images, it became
necessary to search for other examples of other compositional similarities between these
two artists. Such a repetition would only support the idea that Goya influenced Posada’s
work. A preliminary review of Posada’s existing works turns up one other work that
shares very apparent similarities with a painting by Goya.
A broadsheet referred to as Corrido de los cuatro zapatistas fusilados (Ballad of the
four Zapata followers executed by firing squad) (1910-‐1912) shows four revolutionaries
against a wall awaiting their fate [Figure 13]. The dictatorship of President Porfirio Díaz
had lasted over thirty years, without opposition, beginning in 1876. Towards the end of
Posada’s life though, opposition was beginning to strengthen. The Díaz regime was
characterized by “political repression, centralization of power, and press censorship.”40
The election of 1910 would begin the end of the Díaz regime. Díaz would jail the major
proponent of the anti-‐Díaz re-‐election party, Francisco I. Madero, in an attempt to weaken
his election run. He would later be released, but when the election results had returned in
favor of Díaz, the people were not convinced.41 These events would lead to a civil war
within Mexico. Factions arose as revolutionaries fought for reform until the conflict
subsided in the 1920s.
The Zapata followers, or Zapatistas, were loyal to Emiliano Zapata. Zapata would
become a major figure in the movement for agrarian reform, but at the time that this print
was made, Zapata was allied with Madero in opposition to Díaz. Posada would depict the
execution of several criminals by firing squad. Like the broadsheet depictions of crime,

41 Frank, Posada’s Broadsheets, 205–206.
17
actual executions were less frequent than their broadsheet counterparts. If Posada
witnessed an execution is another unknown, but the 1874 Penal Code “ordered that the
death penalty could be carried out only in a location away from public view, with only the
minimum number of officials present as witnesses.”42 It is hard to determine whether such
a law was strictly adhered to, but there is evidence that photographs were taken in some
cases.43 In the absence of photographs or other illustrations of this particular event,
Posada would be forced to work from previous examples and the available descriptions of
the scene. There were undeniably other illustrations and paintings that depicted firing
squad scenes that Posada could have viewed by several other artists and artisans, but the
treatment of the figures and their spacing in execution of the four Zapata followers points
solely to Francisco Goya. The position of the figures, their appearance, and the handling of
space imitate the painting The Third of May 1808 (1814) by Goya[Figure 14].
Between 1808 and 1814, Spain was in the midst of a bloody conflict with France.
This six year period would be termed the Peninsular War. Goya would bear witness to the
atrocities of both sides during this conflict. Mutilation, torture, rape, and executions were
rampant. By 1810, Goya began work on a series of prints entitled The Disasters of War.44
These prints would chronicle the horrendous acts of both sides during the war, however
the series would not see the light of day until 1863. Towards the end of France’s
occupation in France in 1814, Goya began two paintings, one of which would show the
execution of Spanish men by French soldiers.

42 Ibid., 54.
43 Ibid., 60-‐62.
44 Schickel, The World of Goya, 152-‐153.
18
The Third of May 1808 depicts the results of a Spanish uprising in Madrid against
French troops the day before. In the wake of the uprising, the French rounded up all who
they believed to be involved in the uprising and then proceeded to execute them without
trial.45 To the left a group of men stand in front of a large earthen mound; some are
standing, some cower, and some already lay dead. To the right, French soldiers hold up
their rifles at point blank range. Goya sets this scene at night; with a large lantern at the
feet of the soldiers, all of the figures become illuminated. The soldiers are rendered with
their backs turned towards the viewer. Their uniforms, identical stances, and absent faces
make them appear as a single entity that is devoid of humanity. The group of soldiers is
instead a personification of violence and dispassion. This painting, much like Saturn
Devouring his Son, is another image by Goya that is impossible to forget. The most
prominent figure is a single man dressed in a white shirt with both arms raised as if giving
one last plea for his life. The emotions and empathy that are awakened upon viewing such
an image are powerful. Goya was strongly nationalistic despite his propensity for French
Enlightenment.46 The Third of May 1808 exhibits his compassion for the suffering of the
Spanish people during the French occupation; he paints the Spanish people as a victim of a
brutal and heartless French military.
With all the firing squad executions that Posada depicted in broadsheets, only the
print of the four Zapata followers closely resembles Goya’s work. The four Zapata
followers line themselves against a wall on the left, while a line of soldiers on the right aim
rifles at them. The four men have varying gestures; two bow their heads down, one man
raises a single hand, and the last man raises both his arms in the air. The perspective in

45 Ibid., 131-‐132.
46 Ibid., 132.
19
this print is handled in a very strange way. The position of the wall and the men that stand
in front of it and the line of soldiers create a crowded foreground. The illustration was
most likely constrained by the side of the broadsheet paper, but Goya’s painting has been
described as “oddly cramped [and] all wrong as to perspective” as well.47 This confined
feeling aids in creating sympathy for the Spanish. Both artists used this strange
perspective to force the viewer to feel like they are in an odd position as well. Much like
the Zapatistas and the Spanish, the viewer feels trapped and encroached upon.
A figure with both arms raised in the air is not seen in any other print by Posada
involving a firing squad. Furthermore, the uniforms of the firing squad are strangely
reminiscent to that of the French firing squad. They both wear long dark colored coats that
extend down to the middle of their calves. Posada would not depict any other firing squad
with these long coats. These visual similarities point to a connection between Posada and
Goya, however there are deeper connections between these two works.
The context of Goya’s painting and the adaptation of that painting by Posada seem to
coincide with the idea of Posada being supportive of the revolution. Whether Posada was
for or against Díaz is debatable though. One of the clients of Vanegas Arroyo was, in fact,
the Díaz government.48 Vangeas Arroyo supposedly had a “cordial personal relationship”
with Díaz.49 That being said, if Posada had any antipathy towards Díaz, he would have had
to keep it veiled. In his prints, Posada’s political leanings are not obvious. The dictatorship
of Porfirio Díaz was riddled with oppression of the working and farming class. However,
Posada satirized all social classes; yet the work he did with Vanegas Arroyo was directed

47 Ibid., 155.
20
towards the proletarian class. Before working with Vanegas Arroyo, Posada was a part of
the “bourgeois press.”50 His choice to abandon that bourgeoisie world is unexplained. Such
a choice could easily be attributed to changing political tastes. And by choosing to depict
the execution of these Zapata followers in the same fashion as Goya did, Posada hints at his
inclination towards the revolutionaries.
In this case, the similarities in composition of Posada’s print and Goya’s painting do
not boast the same level of impressive similarities as Muy Interesante Noticia and Saturn
Devouring his Son. Rather, the connection lies in the general meaning of the two pieces;
they are both meant to garner sympathy for the soon to be executed. Keeping in mind the
possible political leanings of Posada, he may have very well masked his support for Zapata
and Madero by composing a similar configuration of his figures. Posada, known just as
much for his wit as his satire, perhaps found some personal solace in the reference to
Goya’s work.
CLOSING REMARKS
The connection between these two artists could be further validated by an
investigation into the extent of European fine arts exports to Mexico. Whether books on
Goya or prints of his works made it to Mexico remain as mere conjecture until then.
Likewise, a review of the curriculum of the State Academy of Arts and Trades and
exhibitions that took place at the Academy of San Carlos may give added credence to this
idea. The discovery of written materials by Posada or records of his possessions would be
indispensable pieces of evidence to either refute or corroborate this connection between

50 Posada, Stals and Reverté, Posada: Mexican engraver, 46.
21
he and Goya. Nonetheless, the research presented in this paper provides strong visual
evidence that such a connection does exist. The images discussed as well as the contextual
information on Posada’s life allow us to create an informed theory in regards to Posada’s
artistic influences.
The circumstances of Posada’s life and the evidence found in these images point
strongly to an influence from Francisco Goya. The image of Antonio Sanchez eating his son
stands in itself as strong evidence of this connection, but further research would provide
valuable information that allows us to connect Posada to Goya. The details of Posada’s life
-‐ his formal training in lithography, the dissemination of Spanish and French culture
throughout Mexico, and the proximity of an art academy and museum to his workshop -‐
supplement the idea that he was knowledgeable of fine arts, and specifically that of
Francisco Goya. Additionally, certain details of Goya’s life and work also lend itself to this
idea. Goya was the first major artist to work in lithograph and his series of prints would be
reprinted several times throughout Posada’s lifetime. His paintings, on the other hand,
would be difficult to transport across the Atlantic Ocean, but the practice of reproducing
paintings in print was common. Proof of this can even be seen by Goya, in his etching of
Diego Velázquez’s painting, Las Meninas.51 Engravings of painted works were included in
books on art such as in Laurent Mathéron’s book on Goya. Therefore, an edition of this
book or other articles on Goya would have surely disseminated across the Atlantic Ocean as
a demand by artists and art connoisseurs grew.
Posada undoubtedly found inspiration in artists other than Goya, as the images
discussed make up less than 1% of his body of work, but an influence by Goya is

51 Schickel, The World of Goya, 46.
22
unmistakable from the images of Antonio Sanchez and the execution of the four Zapata
followers. Works like The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, Saturn Devouring his Son and
The Third of May 1808 are arresting images. When one views the work of Goya, curiosity
cannot help but ensue. With his imaginative and dark style, Goya’s style was unlike any
other artist that had preceded him, and I believe that Posada was quite taken with such
imagery and style. Goya had a profound impact on Posada, much like Posada had on Rivera
and Orozco. Just as we see Posada in their work, we see Goya in the work of Posada. The
presence of Goya in Posada’s work can no longer be ignored.

23

Figure 1 -‐ The Epic of American Civilization, Gods of the Modern World panel, 1932-‐34,
fresco, located at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, USA

Figure 2 -‐ Detail of Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park, Diego Rivera,
1947, fresco, located at the Museo Mural Diego Rivera, Mexico City, Mexico,
reprinted from Artstor.org
24

Figure 3 -‐ Photograph of Posada (on right) in front of his workshop in Mexico City,
reprinted from Artstor.org
25

Figure 4 -‐ The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, Francisco Goya, 1797, aquatint, reprinted
from Artstor.org
26

Figure 5 -‐ The Incantation, Francisco Goya, 1797, oil on canvas, reprinted from
Richard Schickel. The World of Goya, 1746-1828. New York: Time-‐Life Books, 1968.

27

Figure 6 -‐ Guadalupe Bejarano en las bartolinas de Belen (Guadalupe Bejaranos in the
Belen Prison), José Guadalupe Posada, 1891, broadsheet print (type metal
engraving), reprinted from Patrick Frank and José Guadalupe Posada. Posada's
Broadsheets: Mexican Popular Imagery, 1890-1910. Albuquerque: University of New
Mexico Press, 1998.

28

Figure 7 -‐ Sensational event!, José Guadalupe Posada, broadsheet print (type metal
engraving), reprinted from Artstor.org
29

Figure 8 -‐ Horroroso Asesinato! (Horrifying Murder!), José Guadalupe Posada, broadsheet
illustration (type metal engraving), reprinted from Artstor.org

30

Figure 9 -‐ Muy Interesante Noticia (Most Interesting News), José Guadalupe Posada,
1911, broadsheet illustration (type metal engraving), reprinted from Patrick Frank
and José Guadalupe Posada. Posada's Broadsheets: Mexican Popular Imagery, 1890-
1910. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998.
31

Figure 10 -‐ Muy Interesante Noticia (Most Interesting News), José Guadalupe Posada, 1911,
broadsheet illustration (type metal engraving), reprinted from Artstor.org

32

Figure 11 -‐ Saturn Devouring his Son, Francisco Goya, 1819-‐1823, oil on canvas (originally
oil on plaster), reprinted from Artstor.org

33

Figure 12 -‐ Saturn Devouring his Son, Peter Paul Rubens, 1636, oil on canvas, reprinted
from Artstor.org

34

Figure 13 -‐ Corrido de los cuatro zapatistas fusilados (Corrido of the four Zapata followers
executed by firing squad), José Guadalupe posada, 1910-‐1912, broadsheet illustration (zinc
engraving), reprinted from Artstor.org

Figure 14 -‐ The Third of May 1808, Francisco Goya, 1814, oil on canvas, reprinted from
Artstor.org

35
BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Frank, Patrick, and José Guadalupe Posada. Posada's Broadsheets: Mexican Popular
Imagery, 1890-1910. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998.
• Gassier, Pierre, Juliet Wilson, and François Lachenal. The Life and Complete Work of
Francisco Goya; With a Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Drawings and
Engravings. New York: Reynal, in association with W. Morrow, 1971.
• Gautier, Théophile. “Voyage en Espagne,” in Goya in Perspective, ed. Fred Licht.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-‐Hall, 1973.
• Glendinning, Nigel. “The Strange Translation of Goya's 'Black Paintings',” in The
Burlington Magazine, Vol. 117, No. 868 (Jul., 1975).
• Goya, Francisco, and José Gudiol. Goya. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1965.
• Licht, Fred. Goya in Perspective. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-‐Hall, 1973.
• López Casillas, Mercurio, and José Guadalupe Posada. José Guadalupe Posada:
Illustrator of Chapbooks. Mexico City: Editorial RM, 2005.
• López Casillas, Mercurio, and Gregory Dechant. La muerte en el impreso mexicano =
Images of death in Mexican prints. México: Editorial RM, 2008.
• Miliotes, Diane Helen, and José Guadalupe Posada. José Guadalupe Posada and the
Mexican Broadside = José Guadalupe Posada Y La Hoja Volante Mexicana. Chicago: Art
Institute of Chicago, 2006.
• Nieland, Sue Erickson. La Lotería: Una Ventana En La Cultura E Historia De México =
Lotería : a Window on the Culture and History of Mexico : [Exhibition] Sioux City Art
Center. Sioux City, Iowa: Sioux City Art Center, 2006.

• Orozco, José Clemente. An Autobiography. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1962.

• Posada, José Guadalupe, and Artemio Rodríguez. José Guadalupe Posada: 150 aǹos =
150 years. Los Angeles, CA: Mano Press, 2003.
36
• Posada, José Guadalupe, José Lebrero Stals and Ramón Reverté. Posada: Mexican
engraver. Seville: Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, 2008.
• Posada, José Guadalupe, Roberto Berdecio, and Stanley Appelbaum. Posada's

Popular Mexican Prints; 273 Cuts. New York: Dover Publications, 1972.

• Posada, José Guadalupe, and Julian Rothenstein. Posada, Messenger of Mortality. Mt.
Kisco, N.Y.: Moyer Bell Ltd, 1989.
• Schickel, Richard. The World of Goya, 1746-1828. New York: Time-‐Life Books, 1968.
• Stavans, Illan. “José Guadalupe Posada, Lampooner,” in The Journal of Decorative and
Propaganda Arts, Vol. 16, (Summer, 1990).
• Tomlinson, Janis A., and Francisco Goya. Graphic Evolutions: The Print Series of
Francisco Goya. New York: Columbia University Press, 1989.
37

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early twentieth century, they would do both.

that had a profound impact on him in his autobiography:

enchanted minutes in watching him…

the art of painting.1

connection between Posada and Goya.

16, (Summer, 1990), 57.

(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998), 5.

Mexican prints, (Mexico: Editorial RM, 2005), 60.

has been all but ignored.

Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, 2008), 46-­‐47.

knowledge of Francisco Goya and his works.

THE SLEEP OF REASON PRODUCES CRIMINALS

have easily been remedied.

(Mexico City: Editorial RM, 2005), 86.

Columbia University Press, 1989), 11-­‐12.

staving off of evil.

Enlightenment. They represented the irrationality of superstition and essentially,

Prentice-­‐Hall, 1973), 132.

imagery and symbolism.

symbol of irrationality and evil.

time they bring forth a deeper moral meaning.

COINCIDENCE OR INFLUENCE?

strongest connection to Goya present in this image.

inspiration in Goya’s Saturn.

remains highly improbable.

117, No. 868 (Jul., 1975), 466.

shares very apparent similarities with a painting by Goya.

subsided in the 1920s.

execution of Spanish men by French soldiers.

brutal and heartless French military.

inclination towards the revolutionaries.

a demand by artists and art connoisseurs grew.

• Posada, José Guadalupe, Roberto Berdecio, and Stanley Appelbaum. Posada's

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Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, 2008), 46-‐47.

Columbia University Press, 1989), 11-‐12.

Prentice-‐Hall, 1973), 132.