Leopoldo M�穢ndez (1902-1969) was one of the most distinguished printmakers of the twentieth century, as well as one of Mexico's most accomplished artists. A politically motivated artist who
strongly opposed injustice, fascism, and war, M�穢ndez helped form and actively participated in significant political and artistic groups, including the Estridentistas in the 1920s and the Liga
de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios (LEAR) and the Taller de Gr�癒fica Popular (TGP) in the 1930s. To champion Mexican art and artists, M�穢ndez also founded and directed the Fondo Editorial
de la Pl�癒stica Mexicana, a highly respected art book publishing company. Leopoldo M�穢ndez is the first book-length work in English on this major Mexican artist. Profusely illustrated with over
one hundred and fifty images, it examines the whole sweep of M�穢ndez's artistic career. Deborah Caplow situates M�穢ndez within both Mexican and international art of the twentieth century,
tracing the lines of connection and influence between M�穢ndez and such contemporaries as David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, Jos�穢 Clemente Orozco, and printmaker Jos�穢 Guadalupe Posada.
Caplow focuses on the period in the 1930s when M�穢ndez and his fellow artists in LEAR and TGP played a key role in the development of a Mexican political art movement and a modern Mexican
cultural identity. She also describes how M�穢ndez created a body of powerful anti-Fascist images before and during World War II and subsequently collaborated with artists from Mexico and around
the world on political printmaking, in addition to publishing books and creating prints for films by the eminent Mexican cinematographer, Gabriel Figueroa.
