The Symphonic Concert of Skeletons, 1943 In 1942 the Taller de Gráfica Popular published a portfolio of Méndez’s prints, including some of his most famous caricatures from the early 1930s. Méndez often engaged in pointed satire in these works, which were representative of the era’s divisive politics. Calaveras of the National Mausoleum, perhaps the first use of the calavera in post revolutionary prints, portrays the elite inauguration of the Palacio de Bellas Artes. It brands the skeletons of Rivera and Carlos Riva Palacio, head of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario, as reactionary capitalists, and in Rivera’s case, ironically as a sympathizer of the Fourth International, led by the Soviet dissident Leon Trotsky.
La Venganza de los Pueblos A man with a raised axe and other workers attacking Nazi soldiers. Hitler at lower left with hands on dead babies, followed by Mussolini, burning churches and figures on gallows.
Por Enseñar a Leer A man and woman pointing at a man holding a chair, who is also being threatened by two masked bandits, one of whom holds a gun.
Chiclero Chicle gatherer; face surrounded by roots and foliage. Signed in pencil