Overview
The Mexican Muralism Movement
Like many other regions around the world at the end of the 19th century, Mexico had a highly unstable social situation. The independence war, which began in 1810 and ended in 1821, ended Spain’s dominance in Mexico, as would be the case among other Latin American countries. While the Spanish imposition in Mexico was over, oppression, poverty, illiteracy and other social calamities were rampant among most of the population. A large percentage of rural Mexican communities survived on subsistence agricultural practices, while thousands of individuals, many of them with indigenous ancestry, moved to bigger towns looking for opportunities beyond working the land.
With increasing industrialization, Mexico entered a new era. Agriculture was no longer the base of the national economy. In that transition from farm to factory, millions of Mexicans, especially those who lacked education or special skills, became vulnerable. Meanwhile, the Communist party made important political gains in Russia and other regions, spreading a wave of new ideas, and a strong desire for further social change. In Mexico, an incipient middle-class paid special attention to the Communist ideals. Many of those who had access to education and information felt responsible for helping the lower social class to get a better life. This group of social activists included individuals connected to different occupational fields. Doctors, teachers, artists, journalists, and members of the clergy, among others, were not indifferent to the painful situation that subjugated millions of Mexicans.
Among those who occupied the highest ranks in the newly organized government, was Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas, who was born in a family with indigenous ancestry and had received scarce formal education. During his presidential period from 1934 to 1940, he worked tirelessly to reach many rural communities that had been forgotten by previous authorities, and he was fully committed to promote social wellbeing and justice. Guided by one of the most popular mottos of the Mexican revolution, “La tierra es de quien la trabaja” (“The land belongs to those who work it”), he distributed millions of acres of farming land that had been in the hands of the social elite, to the masses of neglected peasants. He also created a network of health clinics, organized the political groups into a major party, and accomplished numerous other achievements, for which he is widely considered as the best Mexican president in the 20th century.
Another illustrious public functionary who shared Cardenas’ social ideals was Jose Vasconcelos, founder and minister of public education in Mexico. Vasconcelos was a lawyer, philosopher, and a celebrated writer who had a profound admiration and love towards Mexico’s indigenous past. It would be under Vasconcelos’ patronage that the Mexican Muralism movement would produce its first pieces, which were considered didactic murals.
It is important that we pause here and recognize that the first murals in Mexico were painted during pre-Hispanic times, by the Olmec, Mayan and Aztec cultures (among other indigenous groups). Examples of some of these magnificent indigenous murals were discovered in the so-called Temple of the Murals, in Bonampak, Mexico, where we see an exceptionally vibrant set of beautiful images that are undoubtedly telling a story. Scholars believe that these images were painted between 500AD and 800AD, and surprisingly, their original colors appear to have been largely preserved. The following Internet link is one of many links to images of the murals in Bonampak: https://maya.nmai.si.edu/gallery/bonampak
Following the Spanish conquest, murals were used in churches to visually spread religious ideas and values among the largely illiterate population. An outstanding example of these Christian murals are those painted in Atotonilco, Mexico, by Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre, a well-known mestizo muralist of the late colonial era. Photographs of these paintings can be seen at the following link, which is one of many interesting resources available at the World Monuments Fund website: https://www.wmf.org/project/jes%C3%BAs-nazareno-church-atotonilco For more images and information about this topic, please look at the list of additional resources at the end of this unit.
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