Leon de la Barra, El presidente blanco
Estampas de la Revolución mejicana

Artist name

Leopoldo Méndez

Artist year born

1902

Artist year deceased

1969

Artwork make date

1947-1974

Artwork title translation

Leon de la Barra, The White President
Prints of the Mexican Revolution

Artwork material

woodcut
paper

Artwork dimensions

height: 29cm
width: 20cm

Artwork type (categories)

Print

Accession method

Donated by the School of Philosophy and Art History, University of Essex 2001

Accession number

3:2-2001

Label text

Leopoldo Méndez produced approximately 700 graphic works throughout his artistic career. Many prints were dedicated to the men and women of the Mexican Revolution, an event that lasted from 1910 to 1920 and forever influenced Méndez and the artists of his generation. His subjects surrounding the Mexican Revolution ranged from famous revolutionaries like Emiliano Zapata to villains of the bourgeoisie of Mexico and other countries. In La revolucón vencerá, Méndez depicts a cloud of revolutionaries dressed in the style of Zapata and Pancho Villa attempting to fire upon a group of upper-class citizens. The defiant central figure in this group holds a larger than usual umbrella to protect himself and the men and women around him. His air of smug resistance suggests that no matter how determined the men with the bullets above him try, his wealth and power will protect him in the face of danger. Yet Méndez's title suggests that despite the protection this sophisticated gentleman and his class might enjoy, the revolutionaries will fight hard and from all sides in order to vanquish corruption in Mexico.
Collins, Caitlyn

Last updated date

2008