La Catrina con Flores

I have always been fascinated by La Catrina and as a kid was terrified of them. Or anything that had to do with skeletons or skulls. Now as an adult I find them beautiful and in a way make the thought of death (La Muerte) not so scary. I grew up with my parents telling me stories of La Siguanba and La Llorona. Or el Cucuey which hides in dark spaces. Forget about playing hide & seek ... no way was I gonna hide in a closet or behind a stairwell. Why parents tell such stories to young impressionable minds is beyond me.

Jose G. Posada's La Catrina etching didn't seem so scary and which is why I think so many artist (at least this artist) try to capture her in fun whimsical forms. So this my version of her with a big hat of course with flowers, feathers and lots of ribbons, a flower bouquet and long flowing sleeved coat and of course a sexy high slit for her boney legs to show.

"La Catrina con Flores"
6x12 inches on gallery wrapped canvas with deep 1.25 inch sides, painted black and ready to hang.

She'll be available as an ebay auction this week. Happy bidding!
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More about Jose Guadalupe Posada from wikipedia.

"La Calavera de la Catrina is a 1913 zinc etching by Mexican engraver and printmaker José Guadalupe Posada. It was part of his series of calaveras, which were humorous images of contemporary figures depicted as skeletons, often accompanied by a poem.

A rendition of La Calavera de la Catrina in sculpture
The word "catrina" is the feminine form of the word "catrín", which means "dandy". The figure, depicted in an ornate hat fashionable at the time, is intended to show that the rich and fashionable, despite their pretensions to importance, are just as susceptible to death as anyone else.
La Catrina, as it is commonly known, was a popular print in Posada's day, but soon faded from the popular memory. It, like the rest of Posada's prints, was revived by a French artist and art historian Jean Charlot shortly after the Mexican Revolution. La Catrina soon gained iconic status as a symbol of a uniquely Mexican art, and was reproduced en masse. The image was incorporated into Diego Rivera's mural Dream of a Sunday in Alameda Park, which also includes images of Posada, Rivera himself, and his wife Frida Kahlo. The image has since become a staple of Mexican imagery, and is often incorporated into artistic manifestations of the Day of the Dead such as altars and calavera costumes. It has also been reinterpreted in numerous forms, including sculpture.
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