Shadows, No. 1

c. 1950

Functional Architecture: Shadows, No. 1, c. 1950. Francisco Dosamantes (Mexican, 1911–1986), printed by José Sanchez (Mexican, active 20th century), published by Taller de Gráfica Popular (Mexican, 1937-). Lithograph; sheet: 29.7 x 15 cm (11 11/16 x 5 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Francisco Dosamantes 1954.13.3 © Francisco Dosamantes These prints belong to a series in which Francisco Dosamantes juxtaposed Mexico’s rural, indigenous culture with its rapidly industrializing cities. Both artworks depict stark white silhouettes of working-class men against abandoned farmland, suggesting that such figures were being gradually phased out of modern society. Dosamantes intended the series as a political statement on the loss of Mexico’s native culture, as collectivity gave way to urban alienation. Francisco Dosamantes offered the portfolio to which this print belongs as a gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art shortly after it was published in acknowledgement of the museum's growing collection of Mexican art.