• Learn about the antecedents of Mexican Muralism, namely the Porfiriato Era
• Understand who the primary influencers were of this singular art movement, such as Dr. Atl, Jose Guadalupe Posada and Jose Vasconcelos.
• Study early murals and late murals to see how each artist evolved over time
• Compare the major muralists, Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros to see how each was different in both technique and message
• Places visited include: Palace of Fine Arts, Colegio San Idelfonso, Ministry of Education, National Palace and more
• Travel to Morelia to see muralism in a regional context
• Travel to Guadalajara to see the masterpieces of Jose Clemente Orzoco

• Day One: Introduction: Upon arrival in Mexico City, we take an orientation tour to introduce us to the sociopolitical context of pre-revolutionary Mexico, a period known as the “Porfiriato”. A hallmark of the Porfirio Diaz regime, that ruled Mexico for over 30 years, was to import tastes and styles in architecture, art, fashion and lifestyle that reflected the “more advanced” societies of Europe (namely France). Evidence of this comprehensive initiative to modernize, rationalize and propel Mexico into the modern era can be found in monuments, buildings and art. On the Paseo de La Rerforma boulevard, we see the Monument to the Independence, in the Alameda Park area we see the famed Palace of Fine Arts in its full Neo-Classical splendor, the Post Office, Palace of Communications and others that all reflect Porfirio Diaz’ attempts to convert Mexico City into the Paris of the Americas! To further enhance our understanding of what was taking place in Mexico, we will visit Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL). This museum has state of the art displays of Mexican art from the colonial period through the 1940s. The museum is located within one of the great Porfirian “palaces” the former Palace of Communications. The galleries have excellent examples of the early influencers and antecedents to the formal muralism movement, such as, landscape painting by José María Velasco, graphic prints by José Guadalupe Posada, open air school paintings by Dr. Atl, and pre-Revolutionary works by Saturnino Herran
• Day Two: The First Murals: Today we see the first mural attempts, sponsored by Jose Vasconcelos, the Minster of Education, where he provided the walls of the Colegion San Idelfonso, “Prepa” or high school, as a laboratory for the artists. Here, we see the first attempts to make monumental public art by the Mexican artists, where it is evident that in its beginnings, the "movement" was poorly defined and was still emerging from European influences of religious, symbolic art. As we progress on our study tour, we will see how each artist developed and a true art movement is evidenced, as art became more didactic and less neutral in theme and style. While a highlight of this site is Orozco’s cycle, there are examples by lesser-known artists who were important at the start, namely Jean Charlot, Fermin Revueltas, and Fernando Leal. The dramatic changes in style evident in the Orozco and Siqueiros’ murals, are the direct result of the impact of the Communist party on the muralists in 1923-4 when they published their manifesto. In the “prepa” murals, we see: Orozco: isn’t able to conceive of an integrated mural cycle. The works are more like individual panels or caricatures. He’s thinking like an illustrator or easel painter, not a muralist; in Rivera’s Creation, it is very useful for seeing how Rivera began. This style is what Vasconcelos had in mind, murals that promoted elevated virtues in a modified neoclassical allegorical style. We can juxtapose this style with the later style where we can appreciate how radically the artists deviated from Vasconcelos’ conception once radicalized by Communism. Siqueiros’ murals in the Colegio Chico- where we see the Byzantine-like allegories of the elements, and with Charlot, Revueltas, and Leal, we see examples that help us see that there were numerous directions at the start of muralism. From here, we visit the The Ministry of Public Education (SEP), where we see Rivera’s murals that provide excellent evidence of how he evolved, between 1923 and 1928. These murals lay out his most important themes: the peasant revolution, worker’s struggle, Mexican history and popular folk rituals. They also reveal the evolution of his style.
• Day Three: Starting with The Big Three, Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, we learn of the differences in style, ideology and medium among the most famous mural artists. Beginning at MUNAL, we focus on the galleries dedicated to the 20th century. They provide ample material for discussing the emergence of muralism, the influence of folk art or artesanía on the development of mural aesthetics, the development of graphic or print media, the development of each artist’s style, and the competing aesthetics of its major practitioners. In the Palace of Fine Arts, no where else can we see in one space, the differences between the muralists, aesthetically, ideologically and technically. In Diego Rivera’s “Rockefeller Mural”, Man at the Crossroads, we see Rivera’s overt endorsement of Communism. In the iconography, we see Fascist/capitalist vs. Soviet/Socialism ideological divisions, as well as and North/South economic and class divisions with US as technologically advanced and Mexico/Latin America as site of abundant natural resources. In José Clemente Orozco’s Catharsis, we see his dynamic expressive style and cynical view of politics and contemporary world. No clear political ideology is expressed, as compared with the political didacticism of Rivera and Siqueiros. David Alfaro Siqueiros’, New Democracy, we see his use of “polyangular” perspective, photo-projection and collage, spray guns and synthetic paints vs. the fresco medium used by Rivera and Orozco. Here we can compare how Siqueiros addresses social injustice (war crimes, racism) vs. how Rivera does. In Siqueiros’s “Cuauhtémoc cycle”, demonstrates his notion of painted “dialectics” thesis/antithesis in two panels and how image changes as the observer walks in front of it. We learn of his ideas about activating the viewer so that he/she comes to understand the mural in motion. We compare this with how Rivera and Orozco situate the viewer in relation to the mural. With Rufino Tamayo’s Birth of Nationality and Mexico Today, wwe see differences in style and iconography, and finally, with Jorge González Camarena, we see an example of a second generation muralist, in which he has blended aspects of all of the other muralists in his work, and where the political message of his painting is more open-ended, rather than polemical.
• Day Four: Diego Rivera and the development of a “national popular” style: Today we travel to Chapingo and Cuernavaca to see the Chapingo Agricultural School, which represents Rivera’s great “Total work of art”, where we see the mural’s relationship to its site and audience, and in Cuernavaca we see the Palacio Cortés murals, where we will see one of Rivera’s most beautiful and colorful murals. The image relates the history of Morelos.
• Day Five: Rivera’s Influence on the “Mexican School” of art: Diego Rivera, National Palace, here we see Rivera’s mature style in a mural series that depicts the History of Mexico; Abelardo Rodriguez Market- here we see a large, collaborative project in which many US artists participated. Having seen Rivera’s work, we will be able to note how much influence he had on most of the “Dieguitos”. This site has two very powerful murals by the Greenwood sisters (Marion and Grace) and a very interesting colored cement mural by Isamu Noguchi. We discuss Rivera’s influence, the participation of US American artists in the Mexican Mural Renaissance, and the participation of women and ethnic minorities (Noguchi was Japanese-American). Monument to the Revolution- another Porfirian Palace re-designated after the Revolution and converted into a heroic monument to the Revolution. In conjunction with Rivera’s National Palace murals, this will us see the power of his style, its influence on artists during the period, and the way the government really ran with the national-popular representation of the Revolution.
• Day Six: Siqueiros/O’Gorman- by spending a day examining these two artists, we can better understand the competing factions among the muralists. Siqueiros had been a vocal critic of Rivera’s “Mexican curious” style and fresco technique from the 1930s on. Juan O’Gorman was probably Rivera’s most avid follower, and he took up Rivera’s National History commission when Rivera died. While O’Gorman’s style is more delicate and linear than Rivera’s, he uses many of Rivera’s visual devices (such as didactic banners and texts within the mural, a clear, representational style, depictions of historical events, and an interest in linking post-Revolutionary nationalism to pre-Columbian art). He also worked in fresco. Siqueiros, on the other hand, regarded fresco as antiquated, and preferred to pioneer the use of new media (such as synthetic paints), contemporary technology (such as air guns, photo-projectors, and motion studies). He adhered to a more avant-garde ethos regarding style and the depiction of subject matter and believed that mural art had to address a mobile viewer in order to activate the viewing subject rather than placate her. This is very evident at his master-work at the Electricians Syndicate Headquarters and his National History Museum mural. Electricians Syndicate David Alfaro Siqueiros, Electricians Syndicate- here we see innovations in mural techniques, dynamic use of the stairwell, desire to work in collaboration and to execute murals in truly popular spaces. National History Museum, here we see murals by Camarena, Siqueiros, Orozco, O’Gorman, and Arnold Belkin. Here we can see Siqueiros’ radical challenge to Rivera’s style and influence on mural art. UNAM campus, here we see and can better understand the notion of plastic integration, where we can compare and contrast Siqueiros, O’Gorman, and Rivera’s approach to mural art, architecture, and the mosaic medium.
• Day Seven: Travel to Morelia, Michoacan to see Mural Art in Regional Context. Here, we will see great murals of Fermin Revueltas, Marion and Grace Greenwood, Guston and Ruben Kadish, and the great master, Alfredo Zalce.
• Day Eight: Travel to Guadalajara and spend the day visiting the public buildings that house the masterpieces of Jose Clemente Orozco. We will visit the Hospicio Cabanas, Government Palace and the University of Guadalajara.
• Day Nine: Depart or extend for extra day in Guadalajara

Mexican Muralists, Desmond Rochfort
Modern Mexican Painters, Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros and Other Artists of the Social Realist School, MacKinley Helm