Ancient Mexico: A Mural by Diego Rivera
Ancient Mexico is a grandiose mural which represents the main events of Mexico’s history from the Pre-Columbian Period to Modern Time. The inspiration came to Diego Rivera, from the nationalist movement of his country. Therefore, the mural elements are prototypical of the painting style’s era. Physically the mural is located on the stairway of the Mexican National Palace, in Mexico City; which is the place where the Presidents work. This mural was commissioned at the end of the Mexican Revolution by the federal government. Moreover, this masterpiece depicts its era, considering that this was the dominating genre in the 1920’s, among the Mexican painters. Muralism Movement in Mexico as a form
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To fulfill his goal, he utilized the historical periods as follows; Pre-Hispanic Period, the Conquest, Colonial time, Independence, and the Mexican Revolution as his major themes. For instance, on one panel, we contemplate the Aztecs or Mexicas arriving at their promised land. That is why we can observe the eagle devouring a serpent on top of a cactus. As Cunningham’s indicated on page 554, this part of the mural glorifies the Aztec prophecy. Then, at the center, one can appreciate Quetzalcoatl, with blonde hair, flying over Moctezuma and his peasants. With this particular detail he was indicating that Quetzalcoatl’s job was and done. For this reason he is leaving the Aztecs under the protection of Montezuma, the last Aztec emperor; and going back to his divine home. One can infer that the lighter color of Quetzalcoatl skin as well as his hair, suggesting that he was a foreigner, who taught them new ways of living and for that reason the Mexicas cherished him. Throughout the picture Diego Rivera’s palette consists of an ample array of reds, greens, and white as the dominant colors. One can sustain he employed these pigments. Due to the fact they are the colors of the national flag. The color white represents the purity of the hearts of the Mexican people; the red represents the blood lost during the multiple wars that Mexicans fought, until they conquered their independence. Finally, the color green represents the hope that Mexico, as a free
One of my favorite art works is La Molendera, or The Woman Grinding Maize, by Diego Rivera. The medium of this painting is oil paint on a horizontal canvas that measures 106.7 x 121.9 cm. When I first see this painting, the woman dressed in white with her hair split in two braids, grinding maize on a stone, is what stands out to me the most. It is traditional for women in Mexico that make tortillas to grind the maize, corn, on a rock. In the background I see three already made tortillas baking on top of a ceramic dish. The colors used in the atmosphere are cool toned, which gives you a sense of calm and a soothing sensation. The main colors used here
The reading “An Aztec account of the Spanish Conquest” is mainly about a story when Hernan Cortes came for the first time at Tenochtitlan (nowadays Mexico City). The Aztecs believes that when Hernan Cortes arrive they believe the he was Quetzalcoatl, the main god in the Aztec culture. Cortes were friendly invite to the Aztec city as the most important guest, the Aztec people made a big party to celebrate the return of their god, but the Aztec people did not know Cortes intentions of conquer the empire. Later the Aztecs were betrayed by Hernan Cortes. Cortes’s army began to attack the city and at the end they take over the city.
Her paintings represented “the cultural nationalism of [Mexico]” (Meadows). She had a strong artistic style in which she showed her Mexican patriotism and her communist ideals. In addition, she also made political statements on the U.S. and the industrialization.
Diego Rivera was known for a muralist of the Mexican Social Realism. This movement was the brutality of WWI. It attacked capitalist. Rivera was a communist, he believed in the common ownership in social, political, and economic ideology that strived to maintain social order. One example of this
After the Mexican Revolution, which took place from 1910 - 1920, Mexican art saw a change in the type of art being created. Although the focus of creating art with an indigenous and Mexican theme continued, the country saw a shift to art presenting socialist ideals. The government saw value in working with local artist and commissioning them to create murals that would influence their political agendas. However, what these murals mostly did was strengthen the Mexican culture and bring pride to the indigenous heritage. Although this time period has come and gone, its influence over Mexican art and culture is still very apparent today and can even be seen in Mexican American communities today.
country of Mexico showcasing what Mexico has to offer. Showing how the art of the ancient people are expressed. Being taken over by the Spanish colonial towns are seen in Mexico’s capital Mexico City. Located in Mexico City a lot can be find influencing their art, shops, renowned museums and very good tasty restaurants to modern life, as well showing their ancient art of the ancient civilizations, and ancient culture. The earliest real civilization in Mexico was the Olmec culture which came from of the Gulf Coast from around 1500 BCE.
Murals are the quintessential public art embodying the spirit of the community in which they are created. They say this is who we are, this is what we think, this is where we come from, and this is what we want, reflecting most clearly any changes in the sociopolitical environment. Murals lay out a powerful visual image of the ideology of their creators or sponsors, be it the Church during the Renaissance, government funded projects, or individuals expressing opposition. In Mexico, after the Mexican Revolution of 1917, the government commissioned a vast number of mural projects to transmit its revisionist history of the country, and celebrate the empowerment of the underclass in their recent victory. Predominate themes were cultural
The reason I think Chiapas Paz Mexico mural at City Lights bookstore on Jack Kerouac alley is art because the artist communicates with the viewers by using art theory such as color theory, lines and shapes, and composition on his mural.
The Fruits of Labor is a painting by the famous Mexican painter Diego Rivera. This painting was created in 1932, its medium is lithograph on cream wove paper, with the following sizes 16 7/16 in x 11 13/16 in; sheet: 22 1/2 in x 15 15/16 inches. According to the Portland Art Museum, “Diego Rivera is widely regarded as the greatest Mexican painter of the twentieth century. His large-scale, public murals expressed his Marxist politics—a strong commitment to workers’ rights and an abiding interest in the history of human progress and technology. His work drew widespread acclaim, if also sometimes controversy, and helped establish Rivera as an international celebrity in the 1930s and ’40s”. Through my research, I learned that Diego Rivera created a highly personal style by blending
In the left section of negativity there is “El Fuego” The painting is of Cuauhtemoc. He is secured to an oval bed, hands and feet restrained as flames are rising from beneath his feet. His body is tense and he wears a face of agony. The history of Cuauhtemoc is that when he was just seventeen years old he took over as Tiatuani. He led his warriors in a resistance of Tenochtitlan, the battle was called “La Noche Triste”. He was captured by Cortez and his Conquistadores and they tortured him. As the image depicts his feet were burned to force him to reveal where the Aztecs hid their gold. He
Because Schreffler is arguing that Díaz, López de Gómara, Solís and González created a misconstrued view of Aztec painting, imagery is a vital component of this essay. The visuals strengthen his argument by giving viewers a clear sense of the difference between typical Aztec panting and the painting that the accounts describe. For example, Schreffler includes two images of paintings done by the
Hispanic art, food, and entertainment all have a common theme; they are all fun, light-hearted, yet fulfilling and rich in cultural heritage. On one side, Mexican culture in particular loves to make fun of itself. There are many depictions in song and art of lazy Mexicans in large sombreros with thick mustaches eating burritos. On the other hand artists like Diego Rivera paint large murals depicting rich historical events like the revolution, in bold colors on controversial topics (This Old, n.d.).
To begin addressing this assignment first I must define what art is throughout the weeks I have been enrolled in “Art and Architecture of Latin America.” To me what I have come to interpret is that art doesn’t necessarily have to involve paper, pencil or paint. Art is something that receives public reaction or that it can relate to someone. For example, take the drawings of Diego Rivera. One of his most famous works named “History of Mexico from the Conquest to the Future” can be found in Fresco, National Palace, Mexico City relates to his people's lives. Why you may ask? Well if you look closely to his drawings it shows the history of Mexico since the conquest of the Spaniards to the revolutions that emerged throughout Spaniard rule up until
The foreground is dominated by a colourful arrangement of plants and flowers, which roots go into the ground. The middle ground is a dark earthy brown colour and has to other figures in it they both seem to be of a young age, one resembles an ape like figure the other is a young white girl. Behind her is the skull of a human, and a pile of rocks which are not placed in any particular formation. On the horizon there is a traditional Mexican pyramid this towers over the horizon and takes up the majority of the background. In the sky there is two clouds in the white cloud there is a red sun, the darker cloud has a moon which has lightning coming off it. This once again represents that Mexico is a very natural place to live.
This image may interpret parts of Diego Revers past where he was apart of the Mexican Communist party in 1992 to 1999. He was beginning to form ties with mexico which the party disapproved of. He was able to explore his own passions and became well liked in the United States. The people who opposed his ideas asked for his art to be removed. He was a very popular artist but, also popular in those who disagreed with his views.