La Calavera Catrina had its origin as a zinc etching created by the Mexican printmaker and lithographer José Guadalupe Posada (1852–1913). The image is usually dated c. 1910-12. Its first certain publication date is 1913, when it appeared in a satiric broadside as a photo-relief etching.
La Calavera Catrina
Woman dressed as a Catrina
Girl dressed as a Catrina
A Catrina
José Guadalupe Posada Aguilar was a Mexican political lithographer who used relief printing to produce popular illustrations. His work has influenced numerous Latin American artists and cartoonists because of its satirical acuteness and social engagement. He used skulls, calaveras, and bones to convey political and cultural critiques.
Among his most enduring works is La Calavera Catrina.
Calavera oaxaqueña, 1903, one of his many broadsheets.
Posada's La Calavera Catrina.
Reproduction of the restored Gran calavera eléctrica (Grand electric skull), by Posada 1900–1913
The Calavera Maderista, in the Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City