Over the past century, muralism, the art of social and political engagement, has become a staple of Mexico’s identity. Analyzing the visual, cultural, symbolic, social, and historical work of the three most famous Mexican muralists such as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jose Clemente Orozco is an obligation when trying to understand the history of Mexico. Murals, to start things off, is a piece of artwork, most commonly a painting that is so huge and requires so much time and effort that it becomes pretty hard to miss out on. Murals are most commonly known to achieve a specific goal or draw attention to a pretty serious matter, most commonly political. Murals have a tendency to cost a lot of money, something that most of the artists at that time did not have much off, so they needed someone to fund them, someone that either has a high role in society or has a lot of money. In this case, Jose Vasconcelos was the key.
The Mexican mural movement began in 1921 at the hands of Jose Vasconcelos when he was assigned to be the dome of the Secretaria de Education Publica. Trying to promote the revolution, which was won by middle-class workers and peasants, was no easy task since more than half of the population at the time was illiterate. Jose thought that it would be a great idea to create a strong national identity through art and to draw attention to what has happened to their beloved country. 36 years of age with vast experience and status, Rivera commenced his work on the Bolivar Amphitheatre, and a little bit after, Siqueiros was appointed to paint murals in the Colegio Chico, which translated means, “small college,” in 1922.
Mural painting during that period of time was something everyone got baffled by. Having a huge image on walls of public buildings using vast techniques such as mosaic, fresco, sculpture painting, and encaustic, made the people remember their past and try to find ways to accept what has happened and move forward towards a brighter future. The muralists not only established a new identity for their beloved country, they never forgot nor denied their Indian past like some of the higher-class people did. In fact, some of the muralists made it very clear that they were in complete support of their Indian heritage, and not only that, they drew out the Spaniards to be villains.
Symbolism plays a huge part in art, it can be seen in almost every painting done by everyone, but when talking about the mural movement and the Los Tres Grande, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros took that to a whole new level. They did not symbolize one portion of their murals, or different parts of the image, in fact, the whole mural was covered completely with hidden meanings.
Orozco’s, Catharsis painting had plenty of symbolism such as the fire at the top of the image that symbolizes the release of hidden emotions, and the laughing face that draws you towards immorality. The same thing can be said about Siqueiros, Torment, and Apotheosis of Cuauhtémoc painting and how he symbolized the bloody female to be the motherland and how it is trying to protect the original habitants of that land.
Rivera on the other hand, unlike some of the other muralists, had inspiration from other parts of Europe and was not only confined to Mexican influencers. Rivera traveled to many different countries such as Spain, France, and England, but his greatest developments in art came from Italy and France since they were the greatest centers of art at that time. He did not only paint murals that were influenced by politics, but he also painted portraits and Cubist paintings, but he did not hold on to the cubist technique since he wanted to steer more towards the classical and traditional technique. One of his most used and loved things to do was to include Catrina to show the people that in the end, we will all have the same destiny, death.
Taking a look and seeing what has happened during the past century in Mexico without drawing any attention to the history of art, and how that helped solve so many things would be a pure waste of time. Los Tres Grande not only have a great influence on how the people viewed the government, but it also showed the people what their roots were, and how they should be proud of their heritage, present, and future.
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Analysis of Symbolism in Works of Famous Mexican Muralists.
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