Title: Mexican Muralism - Concepts & Styles | TheArtStory
Headings: Mexican Muralism - History and Concepts
Mexican Muralism - History and Concepts
Mexican Muralism
Beginnings of Mexican Muralism
Mexico's Traditional Murals
The Mexican Revolution
A Government-backed program
Los Tres Grandes
Escuela Nacional Preparatoria
Mexican Muralism in the USA
Mexican Muralism: Concepts, Styles, and Trends
Revolution
Socialism
Industry
Religion
Later Developments - After Mexican Muralism
Key Artists
Do Not Miss
Important Art and Artists of Mexican Muralism
Related Movements & Topics

Content: The murals were usually painted with themes glorifying the Mexican Revolution, recalling Mexico's early pre-Hispanic heritage and promoting the ideals of the new government. In order to create these murals, the government employed some of the best Mexican artists of the day. Some of these artists, including Diego Rivera, had spent time in Europe before the revolution, and were well acquainted with the European realism movement overseas in which artists used painting to demonstrate the dire conditions of the downtrodden working classes. This was a key influence on the revelatory style of the Mexican Muralist movement. Los Tres Grandes
David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, and Diego Rivera became the leaders of the muralist movement in Mexico and became known internationally as "los tres grandes" or "the big three." Rivera was the most famous of these artists. He incorporated European Modernism and elements of Cubism into his work combined with Mexico's bright colors to depict his people, and particularly the working class, as noble and glorious. Orozco, who had fought in the revolution, drew from European expressionism to portray the suffering of mankind, the horrors of war and the fear of a future dependence on technology in very straightforward ways. Siqueiros was young and radical, using progressive techniques and materials in murals that oftentimes blended visions of science and machinery to convey progress. Although all three men had different political beliefs and ideals, they agreed that art, as the highest form of expression, should be a vital part of Mexico's new post-revolutionary identity.