Revolution on Paper

Between 1910 and 1920 Mexico was convulsed by socialist revolution, from which emerged a strong left-wing government that laid great stress on art as a vehicle for promoting revolutionary values. This led to a pioneering programme to cover the walls of public buildings with vast murals and, later, to setting up print workshops to produce works for mass distribution and education. This book is published to accompany the first ever exhibition on this period to be held in Europe, on view at the British Museum from 27 October - 28 February 2010. It will feature approximately 130 prints by over 40 artists, including the three great men of Mexican art of the period: Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. A fascinating range of material includes not only single-sheet artists' prints but also large posters with designs in woodcut or lithography, as well as illustrated books on many different themes. Also included are earlier works by the popular engraver Jose Guadalupe Posada, adopted by the revolutionaries as the archetypal printmaker working for the people, and whose macabre dances of skeletons have always fascinated Europeans. Essays by Alison McClean and Dawn Ades will set Mexican printmaking in its artistic and political context. The book will also contain concise biographies of all the artists featured.