Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case 3G, Shelf DR3

Grief famine ruin/ the effects of Communism

Poster
ca. 1937 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In this emotional Nationalist poster, the gaunt faces of the mother and her two children grieve, apparently, both for the lost father and for the Christian faith. In the background, the burning house and blasted tree are a further reproach to alien Communist ideology.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Grief famine ruin/ the effects of Communism
  • Duelo hambre ruina/ pasa el Comunismo (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Brief description
Spanish Civil War Poster, Spain, ca. 1937 [Grief famine ruin/ the effects of Communism]
Physical description
The gaunt white faces of a mother and her two children are defined against the black backdrop formed by her cloak. A white cross stands in the immediate central foreground. Behind the three clustered figures is a grey hill leading to a burning house in the distance, presumably their own. The house and a bare tree trunk are printed in blue, highlighted by the yellow glow of the red flames. The sky is printed in green, with a black cloud hanging over the scene.
Dimensions
  • Height: 99.7cm
  • Width: 70.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • duelo/ hambre/ ruina... (printed in yellow lower-case lettering)
    Translation
    (from the Spanish) Grief famine ruin
  • pasa el / Comunismo (printed in red and yellow)
    Translation
    the effects of Communism
Credit line
Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko
Subjects depicted
Summary
In this emotional Nationalist poster, the gaunt faces of the mother and her two children grieve, apparently, both for the lost father and for the Christian faith. In the background, the burning house and blasted tree are a further reproach to alien Communist ideology.
Other number
LS.615 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number
Collection
Accession number
E.87-2004

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Record createdJune 15, 2004
Record URL
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