The Masses
José Clemente Orozco
Mexican, 1883–1949
1935
A stark black-and-white lithograph in which Orozco compresses countless interlocking bodies and mouths into a seething, flag-topped crowd to evoke the force and ferocity of “the masses.”
You’re struck by the relentless rhythm of repeated limbs and gaping mouths—faces merging into a roiling, rounded mass crowned by waving banners—conveying both frantic motion and claustrophobic intensity.
Coming from the Mexican muralist tradition, this print turns large-scale social critique into a portable image that both celebrates popular energy and warns of the dehumanizing power of mass politics, helping political art reach wider audiences in the 20th century.
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
composition (irreg.): 13 7/16 × 16 15/16" (34.1 × 43.1 cm); sheet: 16 15/16 × 20 7/8" (43 × 53.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Inter-American Fund
Accession
79.1944
Palette
Exhibitions
