Devin Brown

SHY 345 Modern Latin America

Dr. Judith Reyna

1 May 2022

Mexican Muralism: Diego Rivera, José Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros.

Art has always helped to unite people and deliver a message whether it be straight from

the artist's desires or to promote something further. Art has become a powerful tool that is now

used on a daily basis to urge us to buy a product or to express one’s feelings. The way we use art

today has evolved through many years to be as free and frequent as it now is. If we go back in

time we can see the ways that art was utilized to shape different eras and bring us to where we

are today. One of these influential periods was the Mexican muralism movement of the 1920’s.

This movement began as a government-financed form of public art (Artincontext). The idea that

the government utilized this medium to help influence the public and repair the country after the

Revolution shows just how powerful artwork can be. The Mexican muralist was government

financed and helped unite the country after the war through very influential artwork produced by

many different artists.

How the Movement Began:

The Mexican Revolution began in 1910 with a political rebellion which was held against

the president ,Porfirio Diaz, who was an oppressive dictator (Artincontext). At least a million of

the country’s fifteen million citizens lost their lives during the Mexican Revolution (Schjeldahl).

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The revolt was led by charismatic leaders who had personal political and social agendas which

shaped the course of the entire revolution. President Diaz was overthrown in 1920 which marked

the end of the Revolution. The new government was faced with trying to unite the very divided

country (Artincontext). José Vasconcelos ,who was the new government’s Minister of Public

Education, is the one who conceived the idea of a collaboration between the government and

artists (Flattley). The result of this was state-sponsored murals such as those at the National

Palace in Mexico City(Flattley). This idea was intended to unite the people by commissioning a

large number of public works of art (Artincontext). This movement helped to invoke the

revolutionary cultural change that came about at the end of the Revolution in 1920.

The Movement:

The Mexican muralist movement was the most active during 1921 to the mid-1950’s

(Artincontext).The muralism created a space for artists to openly express the convergence that

occurred between art and politics, which led to individuals discussing the value that public art

actually held in society. The murals were initially used as a way to distribute different visual

messages to a mostly illiterate and uneducated population within Mexico. The murals

encouraged the Mexican people to take great pride in their cultural identity and historical

traditions. The movement came at a time when the country was in the process of transforming

itself from a largely illiterate and rural society into a more industrialized one (Artincontext). This

new and iconic “Mexican” style of art thrived on expressing controversial and blunt messages. It

allowed artists to create different types of art that were now freely available to all people which

allowed it to reach a much bigger crowd. A majority of the artists worked in urban areas of the

country either creating murals or teaching others. The financial support from the government was

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a major factor which allowed artists to succeed in these areas. A major influence to the emerging

generation of Mexican artwork was Jose Guadalupe due to his creation of the first modern mural

painting in Mexico, which proved to be immensely influential. These artworks were intended to

advertise and support the values that were essential to the Revolution and to help establish a new

identity for Mexican citizens.The artists who were originally assigned to the task rejected the

direction of the government and worked to incorporate their own ideas and values into their

works. An important and memorable feature of the Mexican muralism art pieces was the artist's

ability to communicate Mexico’s vibrant historical traditions through painting, as well as a sense

of progression into the modern age(Artincontext). The Mexican paintings and murals were

considered to be high-quality due to the fact that a majority of the artists were formally trained.

A major significant characteristic of the movement was that most mural artists were political

activists, who felt a great need to be part of the creation of a new national identity. Some of the

themes that were portrayed in the murals were the support of the native Mexican culture, certain

aspects of the Mexican Revolution, and the communist battle for social justice.

“By rejecting the use of museums to display their art, Mexican painters hoped to reject all the

traditional aspects and accompaniments of this art form after the revolution ended

(Artincontext).” A key theme of Mexican Muralism was celebrating the Mexican people’s

potential to craft the nation’s history(Bravo). The muralists developed an iconography featuring

atypical, non-European heroes from the nation’s illustrious past, present, and future.

The figures included Aztec warriors battling the Spanish, humble peasants fighting in the

Revolution, common laborers of Mexico City, and the mixed-race people who will forge the next

great epoch (Bravo). In 1934 the government inaugurated the Palace of Fine Arts Mexico City,

which soon became the nation’s most important cultural institution. Mexico’s first art museum,

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The Palace’s Museum, opened up that same year with the works of Rivera and Orozco. The

Mexican Revolution marked a true break from the past(Bravo).

The Three Big:

The movement was led by three main artists who were called “the three big”.

These three artists included Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros

(Artincontext). These artists were internationally referred to as “los tres grandes” meaning “the

three great ones.” They believed that art was the highest form of human expression possible and

that it was an essential force in the social revolution that was going on. Their varying styles can

be seen in their works despite them all sharing the same initial vision. All of the artists had

graduated from the San Carlos Academy in Europe which is where they got some of their

inspiration. José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros both fought in the Mexican

Revolution, but Diego Rivera did not, which caused him to not be acknowledged nor recognized

by the other two. The art form that led the movement came about from a 1921 manifesto written

by painter David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican muralism was pitched as an art style that centered

around social and political engagement(Artincontext). Each of these major influences played

their own individual part in the movement although they were all working towards the same

goal.

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Figure 1: Epic of the Mexican people mural by Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera's participation in the government sponsored Mexican mural program was

what initially began his career as a muralist(Herzog). Rivera was one of the founders of the

Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, Painters, and Sculptors. He then went on to join the

Mexican Communist Party. He was socially committed as an artist and he expressed his left-

wing political orientation through his artwork. With his heavy roots in Marxism, painted a head

of Lenin into his grand mural suite for Rockefeller Center, in 1933. He was then ordered by

Nelson Rockefeller to remove the Bolshevik, but Rivera refused. Rivera spired American

painters to create tableaux of laboring or protesting workers and of historical events and themes

(Schjeldahl). Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted murals all over Mexico, and he had also

left his mark with several significant wall paintings in the United States (Herzog). “Diego Rivera

painted The History of Mexico, as a series of murals that span three large walls within a grand

stairwell of the National Palace in Mexico City. In Rivera’s words, the mural represents “the

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entire history of Mexico from the Conquest through the Mexican Revolution . . . down to the

ugly present (Flattley).”” He chose to concentrate his works on themes that highlight a Marxist

interpretation of history as driven by class conflict as well as the struggle of the Mexican people

against foreign invaders and the resilience of Indigenous cultures. Rivera was the most

traditional in his painting style and heavily drew from the characteristics and traits of European

Modernism (Artincontext). Rivera painted in the historical buon fresco technique which was to

apply paint directly to wet plaster that had been applied to a wall resulting in the pigment being

permanently fused to the lime plaster (Flattley). His paintings helped to firmly develop and

launch the mural movement in Mexican art and the international art scene.

Figure 2: Detail of The Epic of American Civilization (c. 1930s) mural by José Clemente Orozco

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José Clemente Orozco

Orozco was born on November 23, 1883 in Zapotlan, Mexico. He was heavily influenced

by José Guadalupe Posada who was a politically engaged cartoonist famous for his images of

skulls and skeletons (The Art Story). He would pass by a shop where his works were displayed

everyday on his way to and from school. It was after his father’s death that he became fully

committed to pursuing an artistic career. This was a remarkable decision because he had lost his

left hand after manipulating fireworks for Independence Day celebrations in 1904. “Orozco

studied full-time at the San Carlos Academy from 1906-14, and participated at the 1911 student's

strike along with fellow student and future muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros.” Another major

influence was Dr.Atl who told his students captivating stories of his adventures in Europe and

was an advocate of promoting a distinctively Mexican art and was opposed to copying the

European style that was a requisite activity in the Academy. During the violent battles of the

Mexican Revolution, Orozco worked as an illustrator for a pro-Carranza newspaper called La

Vanguardia. He witnessed the carnage of the Revolution first-hand. Unlike Rivera and Siqueiros,

Orozco was an anarchist and was vehemently anti-institution, anti-military, anti-clerical, anti-

establishment because he felt these institutions were all inevitably and inherently corrupt (The

Art Story). Orozco favored mythological subjects in such explosively composed works as

“Prometheus,” a mural at Pomona College, in California (Schjeldahl). He frequently made use of

the theme of human suffering and was considered to be the most complicated artist of all the

Mexican mural painters. One of his most notable works is The Banquet of the Rich which is a

large mural that was painted over the three-story courtyard in the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria

(Artincontext). Political murals became one of the things that he specialized in as an artist.

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Figure 3: Cuauhtémoc against the myth mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros

David Alfaro Siqueiros

Siqueiros was born on December 29, 1896. He was a Mexican painter and muralist whose

art reflected his Marxist political ideology. He was one of the three founders of the modern

school of Mexican mural painting. He had been a political activist since his youth (David Alfaro

Siqueiros). He began studying at the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts in Mexico City and then

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left in 1913 to fight in the army of Venustiano Carranza during the Mexican Revolution. He then

resumed his studies in Europe. He returned to Mexico in 1922 where he helped to paint the

frescoes on the walls of the National Preparatory School and began organizing and leading

unions of artists and workingmen (David Alfaro Siqueiros). He became one of the most famous

Mexican muralists of all time. During the Spanish Civil War, he commanded several brigades for

the Republicans. His labor-union work and his communist political activities led to numerous

jailings and periods of exile. Most of his large murals can be found in government buildings in

Mexico. “His murals are distinguished by great dynamism and compositional movement,

monumental size and vigor, sculptural treatment of forms, and a limited color range that is

subordinated to dramatic effects of light and shadow (David Alfaro Siqueiros).” He became most

famous in his career with the creation of one of his key artworks,“Portrait of the Bourgeoisie”

(Artincontext). He proved himself to be a true activist and socialist and pushed for a democratic

artistic process. This meant that his team of assistants were all paid equally and were obliged to

take important participatory roles in all of the decision-making tasks(Artincontext). This shows

that he was truly passionate about helping the people of his country and wanted to be able to lead

them to a better future.

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Figure 4: Detroit Industry, North Wall (1932 -1933) mural Diego Rivera

The Movement: In America

Towards the end of the 1920’s the effect of Mexican Muralism began to reach the rest of

the world. The influence of Mexican Muralism on art was most evident in the Americas

(Mexican muralism - concepts & styles). After they had gained a reputation and great success in

Mexico “los tres grandes” moved to America to continue to create murals and extend their

influential techniques. Visits to the US by Mexican Muralists such as Rivera, Orozco and

Siqueiros helped influence President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Public Works of Art project,

administered through the Works Progress Administration. The project was intended to provide

employment for artists and craftspeople during the Great Depression, and to create morale-lifting

murals and sculptures for public buildings (Mexican muralism - concepts & styles). Orozco was

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the first of “los tres grandes” to arrive in America in 1927, shortly followed by Rivera in 1930

and Siqueiros in 1932 (Artincontext). Orozco was asked to paint a mural at Pomona College in

California. During his stay in the US, he painted some of his most famous murals in Pomona, the

New School, Dartmouth, and the Museum of Modern Art (The Art Story). His arrival in

California had officially marked the entrance of Mexican muralism in America. Diego Rivera

was commissioned to paint murals throughout the country which led to him staying in America

for four years before returning to Mexico (Artincontext). Siqueiros arrived in the United States in

1932 after he was exiled from Mexico. He went on to paint several celebrated murals in Los

Angeles. Their arrival caused a stir due to muralism becoming a popular form of public art in

America. These Mexican artists were able to easily influence American artists because the

American artists had been trying to escape the European aesthetic which controlled their

artworld at the time (Artincontext). Mexican Muralism also influenced the rise of American

Social Realism during the Great Depression as artists began to sympathize and express the ugly

realities of the working class and the gap between the rich and the poor (Mexican muralism -

concepts & styles). In 1931, five of Diego Rivera's murals were featured in an exhibition at The

Museum of Modern Art, gaining him widespread appreciation in the US. The movement helped

to reach much more than just the Mexican people and still influences artwork in America as well

as other parts of the world.

The Mexican mural movement aimed to reunite the citizens through the various social

and political messages which were communicated in the artworks. The spread of this mural

movement caused a deep and vibrant visual language to spread throughout the country. The

murals were created in public spaces in order to make it accessible to all without any

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bureaucratic hurdles. The art was a way to help teach and enlighten ordinary individuals and the

general public through messages of cultural identity, diplomacy, persecution, opposition,

progress, and other important issues that were conveyed in the famous murals produced.

This art movement was a completely independent style with no outside influences

(Artincontext). The murals can be found all over civic buildings in Mexico. They helped to

communicate various social, nationalistic, and political messages. The murals actually did help

the Mexicans adapt to the new regime of life. “Mexican muralism demonstrated that art could be

used as a legitimate communication tool outside of galleries and museums, as the revolution led

art down a completely new path of exploration (Artincontext).” The Mexican muralist movement

is considered to be one of the most important and influential movements in public art. The

movement successfully brought mural painting back as a distinguished and universally respected

art form that had a strong social and political intent. The main legacy of Mexican muralism art

was its ability to reintroduce mural painting back into mainstream art. Mexican muralism faded

out eventually in the 1970’s (Artincontext). Mexican murals have moved on to influence the

American government-sponsored art program, Works Progress Administration (WPA), which

was introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the early 1930s. The movement remained

completely detached from the horrors of both World Wars despite emerging in the middle of the

two. Mexican muralism,with its grand scale, innovative iconography, and socially relevant

message, remains a notable compliment to the Revolution (Bravo).Today, mural painting

continues to be a dominant art form, with many Mexican artists producing murals with important

messages.

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 Works Cited

Artincontext. “Mexican Muralism Art - an in-Depth Look at the Mexican Mural Movement.”

Artincontext.org, 4 Mar. 2022, artincontext.org/mexican-muralism-art/.

“David Alfaro Siqueiros.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,

www.britannica.com/biography/David-Alfaro-Siqueiros.

Flattley, Megan. “The History of Mexico: Diego Rivera's Murals at the National Palace

(Article).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-

1010/latin-america-modernism/mexican/a/the-history-of-mexico-diego-riveras-murals-at-

the-national-palace.

Herzog, Nadia. “7 Famous Diego Rivera Mural Paintings.” Widewalls, 26 June 2016,

www.widewalls.ch/magazine/diego-rivera-murals.

“José Clemente Orozco Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist/orozco-

jose-clemente/.

“Mexican Muralism - Concepts & Styles.” The Art Story,

www.theartstory.org/movement/mexican-muralism/history-and-concepts/.

Bravo, Doris. “Mexican Muralism: Los Tres Grandes David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and

José Clemente Orozco (Article).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy,

www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/modernity-

ap/a/mexican-muralism-los-tres-grandes-david-alfaro-siqueiros-diego-rivera-and-jos-

clemente-orozco.

Schjeldahl, Peter. “The Lasting Influence of Mexico's Great Muralists.” The New Yorker, 21

Feb. 2020, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/02/the-lasting-influence-of-mexicos-

great-muralists.

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