Zócalo de la tragedia

Beatriz González

1983

A linoleum-cut print in which Beatriz González flattens a reclining woman's body into bold red shapes and worn textures, turning a private, melancholic pose into a public, poster-like statement about loss.

You're struck by the sweeping contour of the woman's upturned neck and face in intense red set against a wide pale field, with imperfect registration and horizontal bands that give the sheet the battered look of popular printed ephemera.

Part of González's strategy of using vernacular graphics and reproducible media to make social grief and collective memory visible, this work helped bring everyday imagery and political mourning into the language of contemporary Latin American art.

Palette

Exhibitions

Committed to Print

1988

Latin-American Art, 1931–1966, from the Museum Collection

1967

New Acquisitions: Latin-American Art

1942

Mexican Art

1978