Five Schools, Built to Deepen · Posada — Broadsides & Calaveras
La Calavera Catrina — José Guadalupe Posada
José Guadalupe Posada · Mexican broadside, 1910
What it is
Posada’s broadside etching of an elegant, elaborately hatted female skeleton — La Calavera Catrina.
Why it matters
Posada made calaveras a genre unto themselves: mortality satire aimed at the pretensions of the Mexican elite, printed cheaply and sold in the street.
What to notice
The hat is more elaborate than any feature of the skull beneath it — vanity is the whole joke.
Death dresses up. It never changes underneath.
Provenance
- School
- Posada — Broadsides & Calaveras (Various)
- Designer
- José Guadalupe Posada
- Format
- Broadside
- Poster published
- Mexican broadside, 1910
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons
Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. 95-year rule (published 1930 or earlier). Gated by the poster’s own publication year. Cleared by registry on 2026-07-17.
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Size
$29.00
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