By: Leopoldo Mendez

Medium: lithograph
Year: 1946
Image Size: 17.6" H x 15.1" W
Signature: Pencil, lower Right
Paper: Cream wove
Publisher: Taller de Grafica Popular

Only available as a complete portfolio.

Leopoldo Méndez (1902-1969) stands as one of Mexico's most distinguished printmakers in 20th-century Mexican art. Born in Mexico City to a shoemaker father and a farm worker mother of indigenous Nahua heritage, Méndez was orphaned before age two and raised by his aunt. Despite these humble beginnings, he became the youngest student ever enrolled at the San Carlos Academy of Fine. In 1937, Méndez co-founded the legendary Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP), abandoning mural painting to concentrate on printmaking as a vehicle for artistic, social, and political expression. Throughout his career, he created over 700 engravings, establishing himself as a master of the medium while remaining deeply committed to political activism and social justice.

Méndez's lithograph "Grinding Maize" exemplifies his dedication to documenting traditional Mexican life and honoring indigenous culture. The work depicts a woman at work in the foreground, engaged in the ancient practice of grinding maize, a fundamental activity in Mexican culture that connects to his own indigenous heritage through his mother's Nahua ancestry. As a virtuosic printmaker, Méndez used his artwork to further causes of agrarian reforms, Indigenous rights, and anti-fascism, helping to initiate a tradition of activist printmaking that continues in Mexico to this day. This lithograph by Méndez highlights the dignity of Mexican women's labor and preserves cultural traditions amid rapid modernization.