The thundering skeleton of the modern bells

The thundering skeleton of the modern bells

José Guadalupe Posada

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This print probably refers to the bells and clock that were installed in June 1905 in the tower of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City. The cathedral is located in the Zócalo, the main plaza of the city, and symbolically stands at the heart of the nation. The verses relate the misdemeanors of people of different occupations, including Don Angel the pawnbroker and Rosita the shoemaker. The skeleton calls for these people to mend their behavior.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The thundering skeleton of the modern bellsThe thundering skeleton of the modern bellsThe thundering skeleton of the modern bellsThe thundering skeleton of the modern bellsThe thundering skeleton of the modern bells

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.