Fusilamiento

Date: 1950

Medium: Linocut

Dimensions (cm.): Information to be added

Alternate titles: El fusilado

Published edition: Unknown

Contemporary publication: Titles in film, Un día de vida

References: Information to be added

Commentary: Méndez made several prints for the film Un Día de Vida (One Day of Life) of 1950, the most compelling of which are Fusilamiento (Execution) and Fusilado (Executed). Fusilamiento portrays a young peasant facing a firing squad. Méndez placed him at the very edge of the pictorial space, like a cinematic close-up, with thickly incised, swirling lines that define the man’s face and upper body. Truncated rifles point at his heart from the edge of the image; the cut-off composition is a dramatic device that puts the viewer in the place of the executioner. Soldiers and peasants line a wall in the background, staring at the execution scene. Interestingly, the film concerns the fate of a young army officer, while Méndez depicted the victim as a campesino.  The image suggests Goya’s Executions of the Third of May and Manet’s The Execution of Maximilian, as well as the many Casasola photographs and Posada prints of executions during the Mexican Revolution. Méndez made his image more immediate than any of these by the extreme close-up view and the low angle. The active lines create a shimmering effect that suggests a kind of spiritual transcendence, and the brightness around his head conveys the impression of martyrdom, as do his exposed chest and his vulnerability in the face of certain death.  (Deborah Caplow)

Cataloging note: A high quality photomechanical reproduction was included in the portfolio Eight studies by Mexican masters of graphic arts, published by Latin American Research Bureau, N.Y., 1952. Includes reproduction of signature, lower right. Sheet dimensions are 16 x 20 inches.

Catalogue record number: 137