The Visual Front: Posters of the Spanish Civil War from UCSD's Southworth Collection

Introduction

Visual Index (Entire Poster Collection)

Catalogue

Chronology of the War

Acknowledgements

Lists of References

Afterword: Herbert R. Southworth Collection


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Hay que dar el golpe definitivo: CNT, FAI, AIT

[The final blow must be struck: CNT, FAI, AIT]. Sanz Miralles. Propaganda Edita por la Confederación Regional de Levante Lithograph, 4 colors; 100 x 71 cm.

Like poster 4 in this exhibit, the conflict between Republican and Nationalist Spain is presented, in this poster (c. 1937) as a conflict between man and beast. A muscular revolutionary-painted red-approaches the fascist beast with an axe. The serpent appears to be gasping for its last breath as it reveals a tongue with the Nazi swastika at its tip. The revolutionary has his foot planted on the neck of the beast in preparation for delivering the final, decapitating blow to the fascist beast.

The initials of the two anarcho-syndicalist groups, CNT (Confederación Nacional del Trabajo) and FAI (Federación Anarquista Ibérica), are present on the poster indicating their support for the war against Nationalist Spain. The AIT (Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores) appears to be an attempt to lend international credence to the efforts of the CNT and FAI. Yet, as explained in the caption for poster 4, by 1936, the AIT had fewer than 100,000 members and provided only a small amount of aid to Republican Spain. As the war progressed and Nationalist Spain continued to receive support from Germany and Italy, Russia eventually became involved in the conflict on the side of Republican Spain. Consequently, the Communists, as administrators of Russian aid, gradually took the reins of Republican Spain as the Anarchists became increasingly powerless due to the lack of international backing and clout such as the Communists possessed.

The author of this painting is the Valencian artist, Sanz Miralles, who produced posters mainly for the CNT and the AIT during the war. He is not otherwise known with exception of a few other extant posters from the Spanish Civil War bearing his signature.

 
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