In 2010, one of the greatest living Mexican printmakers—Artemio Rodriguez—created a portfolio of linoleum block prints to mark the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. These brilliantly contrasting black and white prints include portraits of prominent figures on both sides of the struggle. The artist’s portrait of dictator Porfirio Diaz and the Eurocentric nature of his rule strikingly contrasts the portrait of the great revolutionary leader, Emiliano Zapata, on horseback in rural Mexico with small farms and mountains in the background.

Complementing Rodriguez’s portfolio will be prints from the McNay’s extensive collection of portraits of Zapata. This group will include works by contemporary artists whose portraits of the revolutionary are a testament to Zapata’s enduring legacy in the social, political, and cultural life of Mexico. Some of the prints in this selection are new acquisitions on view for the first time ever.