José Guadalupe Posada Monument

The José Guadalupe Posada Monument honors one of the most influential Mexican artists in history. The almost forgotten bust stands on a stone pedestal at the end of Calzada de los Poetas within the Chapultepec Forest. After his life, Posada was honored by Diego Rivera, perhaps most notably in the giant mural now in the Diego Rivera Mural Museum.  Frida Kahlo and José Clemente Orozco are known to have mentioned his significant influence. Here, sculpturally, the work is by Francisco Zúñiga.

• José Guadalupe Posada Aguilar (1852–1913) created the La Catrina and nearly the entire mythos of the calaveras, the skulls and skeletal figures used in Mexico and internationally to reference Mexican culture, particularly as regards the annual Day of the Dead commemoration. José Guadalupe Posada worked as engraver, illustrator, and caricaturist. He published widely in Aguascalientes and later in León, Guanajuato. He moved to Mexico City only in 1888 where he opened his own print shop and learned new techniques including printing on zinc and lead. He supported the Madero government at the beginning of the Revolution (in 1910) but he died before it could be concluded. Virtually unknown at the time of his death, his work was championed through the customs, folklore, and socio-political criticism he so aptly was able to convey.

The statue stands at the southern end of the Calzada de los Poetas at the intersection with the Paseo del Quijote.