Breeding Nationalism:Mexican Murals

Presentation submitted towardsfulfilment of ART406A coursecredits

Group 5

Presentation submitted towardsfulfilment of ART406A coursecredits

Group 5

Murals, a form of painting on awall or rock surface, have a longand special history in Mexico

Elaborate murals adornedthe walls of temples andSacred places in the cities

They told the stories ofGods and Goddesses andshowed important scenesand ceremonies fromeveryday life.

Mexico in the 1910sMexico in the 1910s

“Therefore do I protest against the boastOf independence in this mighty land.Call no chain strong which holds one rusted link,Call no land free that holds one fettered slave.Until the manacled, slim wrists of babesAre loosed to toss in childish sport and glee,Until the Mother bears no burden saveThe precious one beneath her heart, untilGod’s soil is rescued from the clutch of greedAnd given back to labour, let no manCall this the land of freedom.”

-Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1916

Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920

Mexican Muralism: The NeedMexican Muralism: The NeedMost leading Latin American artists hadbeen influenced by Europe until the late-19thcentury, when the figures beganacknowledging their own uniqueness. Thisprocess reached its zenith in the 1920s, withthe Mexican Mural Movement.

The Mexican mural movement was born inthe 20s, right after the Revolution (1910-1917)as a vehicle to represent the government'sideology and its vision of history.

Many Mexican artists demanded a newSchool of Art in order to break with any kindof academicism, and to create "real"Mexican art that would strengthen andreaffirm Mexican identity and the values ofthe Revolution.La Venda Di Flores, 1930

The main purpose was tohighlight and magnify Mexico'shistory, its pre-Columbian pastand its national identity.

The main purpose was tohighlight and magnify Mexico'shistory, its pre-Columbian pastand its national identity.

Mexican Muralism: The NeedMexican Muralism: The Need

Mural depicting Mexico’s history, Rivera

Key FiguresKey Figures

Emilio Zapata Pancho Villa Diego Rivera

Key FiguresKey Figures

David Alfaro Siqueiros Orozco Silvestre Revueltas

Nellie Campobello

Los Tres GrandesLos Tres Grandes

“The community that terrorizes overman forgets that men are 'persons', not

biological units.”-Motto inspiring the revolution

Three artists would be at the forefront of an upcomingchange in the way art was perceived in Mexico- DavidAlfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and Jose ClementeOrozco.

“The community that terrorizes overman forgets that men are 'persons', not

biological units.”-Motto inspiring the revolution

Three artists would be at the forefront of an upcomingchange in the way art was perceived in Mexico- DavidAlfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and Jose ClementeOrozco.

Diego RiveraDiego Rivera

Diego María de la ConcepciónJuan Nepomuceno Estanislao dela Rivera y Barrientos Acosta yRodríguez:His full name!

Born in Guanajuato, Mexico in1886.

He traveled to Europe in 1909,where he was exposed to differentkinds of art and artists. He settledin Paris, where he painted in thestyle of the Cubists (like Picasso),with large areas of color andsimple forms. Diego Rivera

The Flower Seller, Rivero

Enel El Arsenal, 1928

“I don’t believe in God, I believe in Picasso”-Diego Rivera

Zapatista Landscape, 1915 Night of the Rich, 1928

David Alfaro Siqueiros: LifeDavid Alfaro Siqueiros: LifeBorn in the province of Chihuahua,Mexico in 1896.

Enlisted in Venustiano Carranza’sConstitutional Army at the age of 18while studying art at the Academyof San Carlos.

Much of his work had a directinfluence from his first handexperience of the grief andsuffering of war.

His paintings also reflects hisstrong belief in Marxist ideology.

Born in the province of Chihuahua,Mexico in 1896.

Enlisted in Venustiano Carranza’sConstitutional Army at the age of 18while studying art at the Academyof San Carlos.

Much of his work had a directinfluence from his first handexperience of the grief andsuffering of war.

His paintings also reflects hisstrong belief in Marxist ideology.

Alfaro Siqueiros, 1920

Siqueiros: StyleSiqueiros: Style

Integration of traditionalMexican art and modern art.

Paralleled changes occurringin Mexico.

Integration of traditionalMexican art and modern art.

Paralleled changes occurringin Mexico.

Collective Suicide, 1936

Echo of a ScreamEcho of a Scream

Throughout his career, DavidAlfaro Siqueiros createdpaintings depicting humanstruggle against authoritarianregime.

The event which represents thepainting is aftermath of a war andthe trauma of human loss,specifically, the famous Spanishcivil war.

Echo of a Scream, 1937

Echo of a ScreamEcho of a Scream

When we look at the painting the most prominent figure wesee are two crying babies. One baby’s head is enlarged andother baby is coming out of his mouth. Baby is sitting on asurface which looks like a war zone. The ground shows thefallout of the war and the destruction that ensues.

The visible elements are the shells, broken canons, andshrapnel.

Siqueiros used intense colours to represent a very dark andcatastrophic period of time.

When we look at the painting the most prominent figure wesee are two crying babies. One baby’s head is enlarged andother baby is coming out of his mouth. Baby is sitting on asurface which looks like a war zone. The ground shows thefallout of the war and the destruction that ensues.

The visible elements are the shells, broken canons, andshrapnel.

Siqueiros used intense colours to represent a very dark andcatastrophic period of time.

José Clemente Orozco(1883-1949)

José Clemente Orozco(1883-1949)

Born Nov. 23 1883 Orozco was a Mexican painter,considered the most important 20th-century muralistto work in fresco.

Jose Clemente Orozco studied at the San CarlosAcademy.

While there, he drew unflattering portraits of theteaching staff and was told he couldn't draw.

He believed, that art is for the communication,education and betterment of the people, not an abstractconcept or vehicle for exploring whims.

Born Nov. 23 1883 Orozco was a Mexican painter,considered the most important 20th-century muralistto work in fresco.

Jose Clemente Orozco studied at the San CarlosAcademy.

While there, he drew unflattering portraits of theteaching staff and was told he couldn't draw.

He believed, that art is for the communication,education and betterment of the people, not an abstractconcept or vehicle for exploring whims.

Orozco’s visionOrozco’s visionIn contrast to Rivera's murals glorifying Mexico's heritage, and Siqueiros'sbelief in a science fiction future, the work of Orozco was somber and full of direprophecy.

His emphasis was on human suffering, and in some pieces, the cruelty of theMexican revolution.

Unlike Rivera and Siqueiros, Orozco saw the revolution with the eye of an artistrather than that of an ideologue.

He showed the horrors of war - executions by firing squads, pillaging, rape.Also, unlike Rivera and Siqueiros, the real subject for him was not the history ofMexico, but what lay underneath.

The drive behind his artistic expression was the images of his people’s self-destruction.

For his honesty, he was accused of showing Mexico in a disgusting and savagelight. Many of his murals were defaced and the government wanted towhitewash his work. Art critics called him "sick.“

In contrast to Rivera's murals glorifying Mexico's heritage, and Siqueiros'sbelief in a science fiction future, the work of Orozco was somber and full of direprophecy.

His emphasis was on human suffering, and in some pieces, the cruelty of theMexican revolution.

Unlike Rivera and Siqueiros, Orozco saw the revolution with the eye of an artistrather than that of an ideologue.

He showed the horrors of war - executions by firing squads, pillaging, rape.Also, unlike Rivera and Siqueiros, the real subject for him was not the history ofMexico, but what lay underneath.

The drive behind his artistic expression was the images of his people’s self-destruction.

For his honesty, he was accused of showing Mexico in a disgusting and savagelight. Many of his murals were defaced and the government wanted towhitewash his work. Art critics called him "sick.“

Orozco’s frescoesOrozco’s frescoes

One by one, these frescoes,both symbolically anddramatically, describe theoppression of the Mexicansociety from the conquestand all the way to the20th Century.

One by one, these frescoes,both symbolically anddramatically, describe theoppression of the Mexicansociety from the conquestand all the way to the20th Century.

Orozco’s Manof fire

Orozco’s Manof fire

The mural literallyscreams Transformations.

As the Air, Earth and Watersurround the man on fire,holding hands andspinning in an endlesscycle of life, while the manon fire is getting ready toemerge from the ashes.

Idea of both disintegrationand death, rebirth andregeneration.

The mural literallyscreams Transformations.

As the Air, Earth and Watersurround the man on fire,holding hands andspinning in an endlesscycle of life, while the manon fire is getting ready toemerge from the ashes.

Idea of both disintegrationand death, rebirth andregeneration.

Rufino TamayoRufino Tamayo

Rufino Tamayo (August 26, 1899 – June 24, 1991)was a Mexican born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.

His painting have figurative abstraction withsurrealist influences.

Experimented with Cubism, Impressionism andFauvism, with a distinctly Mexican feel.

Rufino Tamayo (August 26, 1899 – June 24, 1991)was a Mexican born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.

His painting have figurative abstraction withsurrealist influences.

Experimented with Cubism, Impressionism andFauvism, with a distinctly Mexican feel.

Rufino Tamayo: StyleRufino Tamayo: Style

“As the number of colours we use decreases, thewealth of possibilities increases”

- Rufino Tamayo

Rufino Tamayo: StyleRufino Tamayo: StyleTamayo's method situateshis composition as thefocal point instead ofemphasizing the subjectalone.

By doing so, looks at thepainting as a whole.Tamayo favoured usingfew colours rather thanmany; he asserted thatfewer colours in a paintinggave the art greater forceand meaning.

Rufino Tamayo: StyleRufino Tamayo: Style

In this painting, Tamayoemploys pure colours suchas red and purple;

His restraint in the choiceof colour here confirms hisbelief that fewer colors, farfrom limiting the painting,actually enlarge thecomposition's possibilities.

Tres personajes cantando, 1981

ConclusionsConclusions

“There’s more to it than meets the eye”“There’s more to it than meets the eye”

Frida Kahlo,Self-Portrait, 1938

Roberto Montenegro,Mayan Women, 1926

José Chávez Morado,Carnaval en

Huejotzingo, 1939

ConclusionsConclusions

“Their work doesn’t remain on thecanvas, it goes much further than that.They try to envision a new reality.”

- Laura Matute Gonzalez (Art Historian)

This new movement successfully createda “real” Mexican art that strengthenedand reaffirmed Mexican identity and thevalues of the Revolution.

“Their work doesn’t remain on thecanvas, it goes much further than that.They try to envision a new reality.”

- Laura Matute Gonzalez (Art Historian)

This new movement successfully createda “real” Mexican art that strengthenedand reaffirmed Mexican identity and thevalues of the Revolution.

Thank You!