News Building 1936

José Pavón made this lithograph, News Building, in 1936. Look at the tonal range he coaxes from the lithographic crayon, a kind of grease pencil. It’s a patient, almost reverent way of working, building up these monumental forms with subtle gradations of light and shadow. The velvety blacks in the foreground give way to hazy grays in the distance, creating a real sense of atmospheric depth. See how the artist renders the texture of the stone or concrete, and then contrasts this with the smooth, almost glowing surface of the skyscraper in the center? There’s a real tension between abstraction and representation, and I think that’s what keeps the image alive. Pavón reminds me a little of Charles Sheeler, who also found a way to merge modernist abstraction with American industrial imagery, but there’s also something distinct here – a kind of quiet lyricism that I find really appealing. For me, this print isn’t just about documenting a place, it’s about capturing a mood, a feeling, an experience of urban space.