Constitution of ’17 Constitución del ’17

Date

1937-1965

Creator

In her Constitución del ’17, Elena Huerta creates a portrait-like representation of the historical figures who contributed to the formation of the Mexican Constitution of 1917. The print does not illustrate an actual historical event but rather a fictional gathering of the constitution’s supporters. These political personages are depicted in the established stereotyped form used by the Taller de Gráfica Popular in their many pamphlets, posters, and book illustrations to make the figures’ identities easily recognizable to the viewer. Venustiano Carranza, who served from 1917 to 1920 as the first president elected under the constitution, is depicted at the center of the group, presenting the new document of law. Pancho Villa, the fourth figure from the right, and Emiliano Zapata, on the far right, represent the factionos who, while supporting the constitution, eventually did not accept President Carranza’s reforms. Indeed, Zapata would later be assassinated on Carranza’s orders. The other figures in the scene represent conservative Catholics and reactionary landowners who similarly did not agree with Carranza’s ideas. from Costa, Para la Gente: Art, Politics and Cultural Identity of the Taller de Gráfica Popular (Notre Dame, 2009)