Shouts on the Wall

“A poster is a cry launched from the wall.” This famous phrase, attributed to poster artist Josep Renau, described posters as visual outcries with great communicative power, making them an ideal tool for propaganda. Already common during the First World War, the use of political posters became an unprecedented phenomenon in Spain during the Civil War. It is estimated that around 3,500 posters were created over the course of the nearly one thousand days of war. Production in Republican-held territory far outpaced that of the rebel side, but in both cases, poster design became a genuine outlet for artistic expression during a difficult time for professional artists.

In certain parts of Spain—mainly in cities with the infrastructure to support poster production, such as Madrid, Barcelona, or Valencia—the proliferation of posters was striking, despite material shortages of paper and ink. George Orwell described this vividly in Homage to Catalonia (1938): “Revolutionary posters were everywhere, flaming from the walls in vivid red and blue that made the other advertisements look like daubs of mud.”

The demands of war dictated both the pace of production and the slogans themselves. Posters were created to mobilize the population and generate the desired impact in various areas: enlisting soldiers, increasing of agricultural and industrial production, the improving education, encouraging women to participate in a range of tasks, promoting solidarity efforts, discrediting the enemy, or boosting of morale. slogans aimed to stir consciences and demanded that each person contribute to victory in the way they could. 

Spain did not have a strong tradition of political posters, so the posters borrowed certain elements from those for business and festivals. They also showed Soviet influence, which was introduced through specific publications and widely disseminated through the designs of some outstanding poster artists aligned with communism. The use of new techniques such as photomontage and airbrushing resulted in attractive, modern designs.

Although many artists who were not specifically devoted to poster design created posters during the war, some of the most prominent—and prolific— were José Bardasano, whose “Throw the Invade Out” is shown here, Josep Renau, Carles Fontseré, Juana Francisca Rubio, Martí Bas, Arturo Ballester, Germán Horacio, José Briones, José Espert, and Manuel Monléon.

IEG