El "Juan" [Soldier], no. 6 from 25 Prints of Leopoldo Méndez
1934
20th century
24.8 cm x 19.7 cm (9 3/4 in. x 7 3/4 in.)
La Estampa Mexicana
Publisher
Leopoldo Méndez
(Mexico City, 1902 - 1969, Mexico City)
Primary
Object Type:
print
Artist Nationality:
Latin America, Mexican
Medium and Support:
Linocut
Credit Line:
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Gift of Dr. Alexander and Ivria Sackton, 1986
Accession Number:
1986.361.6/25
Leopoldo Méndez was a young man during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) and became a social and political activist. In 1937, he co-founded the Taller de Gráfica Popular [People’s Graphic Workshop], one of the most influential print collectives in the Americas for its commitment to social causes. Much of his printed work highlights the ideals of social justice underscoring the Mexican Revolution.
"El Juan" shows the stark contrast between the lives of the wealthy with those who are living in poverty; in this case a bourgeois family is waiting for their car while a soldier’s family walks to their destination. The bare feet of the soldier’s wife and child a sign of their poverty.