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150-579: Mexican Renaissance refers to the Mexican muralism movement between 1920 and 1950. The phrase was first used in Idols behind Altars by Anita Brenner , with Jean Charlot . Charlot also discussed it in his 1963 book, The Mexican Mural Renaissance : There are some simplifications which have become history, and one of them is the tie, which in itself is quite true, between the Mexican Renaissance, so called, and

300-546: A Franciscan friar tending to an emaciated indigenous period. Unlike other artists, Orozco never glorified the Mexican Revolution , having fought in it, but rather depicted the horrors of this war. It caused many of his murals to be heavily criticized and even defaced. David Alfaro Siqueiros was the youngest and most radical of the three. He joined the Venustiano Carranza army when he was eighteen and experienced

450-520: A Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central Park ). She became Rivera's assistant for a total of ten years, right up until his death in 1957. However, she also worked on her own pieces and ultimately had to navigate through her own personal struggles on how to fully depict Mexican nationalism in her own way. Moreover, painting alongside Rivera helped her understand the concepts of Mexican muralism which captured social and political awareness but also showed

600-415: A complete sweep of elections – the carro completo ("full car") – the party used the campaign mechanism of the acarreo ("hauling"), the practice of trucking PRI-supporters to rallies to cheer the candidate and to polling places to cast votes – in exchange for gifts of some kind. The party would shift voting booths from one place to another, making it difficult for people to cast their votes. When it

750-543: A continuing rapprochement with the United States, which built on their alliance in World War II. Although there was rhetoric about economic nationalism and defense of Mexican sovereignty, there was broad-based cooperation between the two countries. Cracks appeared in the system. There was significant labor unrest with strikes by railway workers, electricians, and even medical doctors that were brutally suppressed. Culturally

900-545: A fictional finalism of a social Mexico would be supported by the preceding artworks in Chapingo Chapel. These prior artworks showcase the evolution of the agrarian movement paralleled with the evolution of Earth, both timelines of events being heavily reflective of Rivera's own positive views. Orozco's view point on the Mexican Revolution can be seen in his mural The Trench (1922-1924), Mexico that can be found at

1050-425: A hard line. Another stance is that the evolution of Mexican muralism as having an uncomplicated relationship with the government and as an accurate reflection of avant-garde and proletariat sentiments. However, hard liners see the movement as complicit in the corrupt government's power consolidation under the guise of a socialist regime. Art historian Leonard Folgarait has a slightly different view. He marks 1940 as

1200-443: A human figure holding a mechanical weapon, sitting atop a horse and surrounded by a glowing light which depicted a 'godlike' Spanish conquistador. The horse is shaped like a majestic creature because it was a creature that the native Mexicans had never seen before. Overall, this piece offers an immense amount of imagery and is a reflection of the initial defeat of Mexican nationalism and shows the traumatic and oppressive history. Tamayo

1350-415: A manifesto listing education, art of public utility, and beauty for all as the social goals of their future artistic endeavors. After nearly a century since the beginning of the movement, Mexican artists still produce murals and other forms of art with the same "mestizo" message. Murals can be found in government buildings, former churches and schools in nearly every part of the country. One recent example

1500-537: A mural at the Electrical Workers Union Building titled Portrait of the Bourgeoise (1939), Mexico City Mexico . Together, these artists aimed to present their belief that the violence of the revolutionary war stemmed from the utilization of the flaw economic system they knew as capitalism, used as a tool of perpetuating the control of fascist leaders. This piece of art demonstrates the horrors of war,

1650-583: A number of assassinations, including that of Francisco I. Madero who initiated the struggle. It ended in the early 1920s with one-party rule in the hands of the Álvaro Obregón faction, which became the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). During the Revolution, Atl supported the Carranza faction and promoted the work of Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros, who would later be the founders of

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1800-515: A populist philosophy that coincided with the social and political criticism of Atl and Posada and influenced the next generation of painters such as Diego Rivera , José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros . These ideas gained power as a result of the Mexican Revolution , which overthrew the Díaz regime in less than a year. However, there was nearly a decade of fighting among the various factions vying for power. Governments changed frequently with

1950-517: A scientific future. Of the three, Diego Rivera was the most traditional in terms of painting styles, drawing heavily from European modernism. In his narrative mural images, Rivera incorporated elements of cubism His themes were Mexican, often scenes of everyday life and images of ancient Mexico. He originally painted this in bright colors in the European style but modified it to more earthy tones to imitate indigenous murals. His greatest contribution

2100-483: A sense of nationalism and promote the inclusion of the masses in political and social ideologies, it was Vasconcelos' idea to have a government-backed mural project. His time as secretary was short but it set how muralism would develop. His image was painted on a tempera mural in 1921 by Roberto Montenegro , but this was short lived. His successor at the Secretaría de Educación Pública ordered it painted out. Parallel to

2250-399: A small clique of businessmen to dominate their sectors of the economy by supplying government-owned companies with goods and commodities. A major impact of Mexico's economic growth was urban population growth, transforming the country from a largely rural one to urban. The middle class grew substantially. The overall population of Mexico grew substantially with a greater proportion being under

2400-455: A stable exchange rate. Economic nationalist and protectionist policies implemented in the 1930s effectively closed off Mexico to foreign trade and speculation, so that the economy was fueled primarily by state investment and businesses were heavily reliant on government contracts. As a result of these policies, Mexico's capitalist impulses were channeled into massive industrial development and social welfare programs , which helped to urbanize

2550-550: A system of dictatorship which has so efficiently recruited the intellectual milieu , bribing it with great subtlety. The perfect dictatorship is not communism, nor the USSR , nor Fidel Castro ; the perfect dictatorship is Mexico. Because it is a camouflaged dictatorship." The phrase became popular in Mexico and around the world until the PRI fell from power in 2000. Despite losing the presidency in

2700-475: A term as president. Calles sought to stop the violent struggle for power between the victorious factions of the Revolution, particularly around the presidential elections and to guarantee the peaceful transmission of power for members of the party. A conclave of revolutionary generals including Calles met to create a national party, forging together their various regional strongholds. They were not primarily concerned with ideology, but rather to hold power. Formally,

2850-477: A tight grip over the working classes ; the PRI held rural farmers in check through its control of the ejidos (state-owned plots of land that peasants could farm but not own), and generous financial support of universities and the arts ensured that most intellectuals rarely challenged the ideals of the Mexican Revolution. In this way, PRI rule was supported by a broad national consensus that held firm for decades, even as polarizing forces gradually worked to divide

3000-482: A woman in Mexico, taking her two years to complete. Located in Saltillo, Mexico , the mural shows two different scenes. One scene depicts the independence of Mexico in 1810 with Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, while the other scene shows Hidalgo alongside contemporary independence leaders who contributed to the independence movements of Mexico. Huerta was not only known for her artwork, but also for her literary works, as she

3150-551: Is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Nacional Revolucionario , PNR ), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (Spanish: Partido de la Revolución Mexicana , PRM ) and finally as the PRI beginning in 1946. The party held uninterrupted power in the country and controlled the presidency twice: the first one was for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000,

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3300-437: Is a cross cultural project in 2009 to paint a mural in the municipal market of Teotitlán del Valle , a small town in the state of Oaxaca . High school and college students from Georgia , United States , collaborated with town authorities to design and paint a mural to promote nutrition, environmental protection, education and the preservation of Zapotec language and customs. Mexican muralism brought mural painting back to

3450-453: Is also a symbol of hope manifested by a lone man dressed in the clothing of a guerrilla fighter. He's seen grasping a rifle pointed towards Bourgeoise leaders present during the revolution. This symbolizes a promising future in which Mexico overcomes the obstacles faced in the revolution and embraces technology, as seen in the depictions of electrical towers at the top of the mural. The Big Three struggled to express their leftist leanings after

3600-418: Is covered by the large sombrero on his head, also begins beating the woman with the butt of his rifle. Behind a door stand three children witnessing the violence take place as they look on in utter shock and disbelief. The mural reflected Reyes' concerns with the education system and the struggle to improve social conditions for working women. Elena Huerta's 450 square meter work is the largest mural created by

3750-400: Is referred to as the "heroic" phase while the period after 1930 is the "statist" phase with the transition to the latter phase caused by José Vasconcelos's resignation in 1924. Scholar Mary Coffey describes those who "acknowledge a change but refrain from judgment about its consequences" as taking the soft line and those who see all murals after 1930 as "propaganda for a corrupt state" as taking

3900-546: Is the promotion of Mexico's indigenous past into how many people both inside and outside of the country view it. One of the most prominent examples of this is Rivera's contribution to the Mexican National Palace, translated as The History of Mexico, which he worked on from1929-1935. José Clemente Orozco 's art also began with a European style of expression; however, his art developed into an angry denunciation of oppression especially by those he considered to be of

4050-499: The 2000 elections , and 2006 presidential candidate Roberto Madrazo finishing in third place without carrying a single state, the PRI continued to control most state governments through the 2000s and performed strongly at local levels. As a result, the PRI won the 2009 legislative election , and in 2012 its candidate Enrique Peña Nieto regained the presidency. However, dissatisfaction with corruption in Peña Nieto's administration,

4200-695: The Catholic Church , and embracing free-market capitalism . Subsequently, many left-wing members of the party abandoned the PRI and founded the Party of the Democratic Revolution ( Partido de la Revolución Democrática , PRD) in 1989 following the controversial, and fraudulent 1988 presidential election. In 1990, Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa famously described Mexico under the PRI as being "the perfect dictatorship", stating: "I don't believe that there has been in Latin America any case of

4350-630: The Confederación Nacional Campesina (CNC), or National Peasant Confederation, which Cárdenas saw as a force against landowners, but it became the vehicle for patron-client / state-campesino relationships. Whether the intention or not of Cárdenas, the CNC became a means to channel and control the peasantry. The so-called "popular" sector of the party was organized via the Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Populares (CNOP), which

4500-472: The Escuela Nacional Preparatoria . The dynamic lines and diluted color palette exemplify the dismal tone Orozco sets to exemplify his negative attitude towards the revolution. Contrary to many other revolutionary artists, one can also note how Orozco leaves the faces of the soldiers hidden, further displaying his own ideologies about the war. This form of anonymity functions as commentary towards

4650-624: The Getty Conservation Institute and the América Tropical Interpretive Center opened to provide public access. The concept of mural as political message was transplanted to the United States, especially in the former Mexican territory of the Southwest . It served as inspiration to the later Chicano muralism but the political messages are different. Revolutionary Nicaragua developed a tradition of muralism during

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4800-640: The Great Depression , the Works Progress Administration employed artists to paint murals, which paved the way for Mexican muralists to find commissions in the country. Rivera lived in the United States from 1930 to 1934. During this time, he put on an influential show of his easel work at the Museum of Modern Art . The success of Orozco and Rivera prompted U.S. artists to study in Mexico and opened doors for many other Mexican artists to find work in

4950-551: The Mexican Revolution . By Renaissance I speak mainly of the mural period of the 1920s and of the muralists, and of course, the Revolution is the Revolution of 1910, mostly military and a rather bloody affair. Mexican muralism Mexico has had a tradition of painting murals, starting with the Olmec civilization in the pre Hispanic period and into the colonial period, with murals mostly painted to evangelize and reinforce Christian doctrine. The modern mural tradition has its roots in

5100-694: The Partido Radical Tabasqueño , of Tomás Garrido Canabal ; the Yucatán-based Partido Socialists del Sureste , of Felipe Carrillo Puerto ; and the Partido Socialista Fronterizo of Emilio Portes Gil, the current interim president. CROM's political arm, the Laborist Party, was not part of the coalition. The party developed a written set of principles and a platform that drew support from agraristas and workers in

5250-481: The Sandinista period. Aurora Reyes Flores was a political activist, teacher, and the first recognized female Mexican muralist. She focused on highlighting problems of those that she considered unprotected. Her first mural, "Atentado a Las Maestras Rurales" ( Attack on Rural Teachers ), depicts a woman who is being dragged by the hair by a man who is also tearing up a book with his other hand. Another man, whose face

5400-624: The Tlatelolco massacre in which the Mexican Army killed hundreds of unarmed demonstrators in Mexico City. Subsequently, a series of economic crises beginning in the 1970s drastically lowered the living standards of much of the country's population. Throughout its nine-decade existence, the party has represented a very wide array of ideologies , typically following from the policies of the President of

5550-408: The técnicos , bureaucrats with specialized knowledge and training, especially with the economy, and políticos , the seasoned politicians, many of whom had regional roots in state politics. Miguel Alemán was the PRI's candidate in the 1946 elections, but he did not run unopposed. Alemán and his circle had hoped to abandon sectoral representation in the party and separate the party as an organism of

5700-538: The "'voice and vote' of the Mexican national consciousness," calling themselves "guardians of the national soul". The muralists differed in style and temperament, but all believed that art was for the education and betterment of the people. This was behind their acceptance of these commissions as well as their creation of the Syndicate of Technical Workers, Painters, and Sculptors. The first government sponsored mural project

5850-417: The 1920s to the 1950s is often grouped under the name of Escuela Mexicana de Pintura y Escultura , coined in the 1930s by art historians and critics. The term is not well-defined as it does not distinguish among some important stylistic and thematic difference, there is no firm agreement which artists belong to it nor if muralism should be considered part of it or if these artworks should be left separate from

6000-477: The 1970s a 'pragmatic hegemonic state', and in the 1990s as a 'single party'". The close relationship between the PRI and the Mexican state has been examined by a number of scholars. "Today we have the chance, unique in many years, to go from the category of a country of caudillos , to a Nation of Institutions." - Plutarco Elías Calles , during his last Address to the Congress on 1 September 1928. Even though

6150-507: The 19th century, with this use of political and social themes. The first Mexican mural painter to use philosophical themes in his work was Juan Cordero in the mid-19th century. Although he did mostly work with religious themes such as the cupola of the Santa Teresa Church and other churches, he painted a secular mural at the request of Gabino Barreda at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (since disappeared). The latter 19th century

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6300-478: The Academy of San Carlos. A large quantity of murals were produced in most of the country from the 1920s to 1970, generally with themes related to politics and nationalism focused often on the Mexican Revolution , mestizo identity and Mesoamerican cultural history. Scholar Teresa Meade states that " indigenismo ; the glorification of rural and urban labor and the working man, woman, and child; social criticism to

6450-603: The Anti-Reelectionist Party was the high-profile former Secretary of Education, José Vasconcelos . Vasconcelos had considerable support among university students, the middle class, intellectuals, and some workers from Mexico's northeast. According to historian Enrique Krauze , the 1929 campaign saw the PNR's "initiation into the technology of electoral fraud, a 'science' that later became its highly refined speciality." Tactics included breaking up political meetings and insults, to

6600-556: The Big Three spent the post-revolutionary period developing their work based on the promises of a better future, and with the advent of conservatism they lost their subject and their voice. The Mexican government began to distance itself from mural projects and mural production became relatively privatized. This privatization was a result of patronage from the growing national bourgeoisie. Murals were increasingly contracted for theaters, banks, and hotels. Mexican populist art production from

6750-542: The CNC for Ávila Camacho by personally guaranteeing their interests would be respected. In the final year of Ávila Camacho's term, the party assembly decided on a new name, pushed by the circle of Miguel Alemán , the Institutional Revolutionary Party, pairing seemingly contradictory terms of "institutional" and "revolutionary." The party's name was changed in 1946, the final year of Manuel Ávila Camacho 's term of office. The sectoral representation in

6900-493: The Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1946, the basic structure was retained. Cárdenas's calculation that the military's incorporation into the PRM would undermine its power was essentially correct, since it disappeared as a separate sector of the party, but was absorbed into the "popular" sector. The organizational change in the PNR to the PRM, and later the PRM to the PRI, were "imposed by Mexican presidents without any discussion within

7050-429: The Laborist Party. "The PNR is the instrument of political action by means of which Mexico's great campesino and worker masses fight to keep control of the public power in their hands, a control wrested from the landowning and privileged minorities through the great armed movement that began in 1910." One possible presidential candidate for the PNR was Aarón Sáenz Garza , former governor of the state of Nuevo León , who

7200-473: The National Preparatory School in 1922 called Creation , functioning as an allegorical depiction of the holy trinity representing love, hope, and faith. The movement was strongest from the 1920s to the 1950s, which corresponded to the country's transformation from a mostly rural and mostly illiterate society to an industrialized one. While today, Murals are seen as symbols of Mexican identity, at

7350-545: The PNR was a political party, but it has been labeled a "confederation of caciques " ("political bosses"). The new party-in-formation did not contain any labor elements. At the time, the strongest labor organization was the Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM) controlled by Luis N. Morones , the political wing of which was the Laborist Party . Calles went to the Laborist Party convention and addressed

7500-525: The PRI as a "state party" due to its dominance of domestic politics and the inextricable connection between the party and the identity of the Mexican nation-state for much of the 20th century. According to Austin Bay, for more than seven decades, the PRI ran Mexico under an " autocratic , endemically corrupt, crony -ridden government". The elites of the PRI controlled the police and the judicial system, and were susceptible to bribery . During its time in power,

7650-526: The PRI became a symbol of corruption , repression , economic mismanagement, and electoral fraud ; many educated Mexicans and urban dwellers in the 21st century worried that its return to power would lead to regression to its worst excesses. The PRI became a full member of the Socialist International in 2003. It is also considered a social democratic party. The name "Institutional Revolutionary Party" appears as an oxymoron or paradox , as

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7800-403: The PRI had begun experiments in internal primaries, but Alemán cracked down on this democratic opening and had congress pass a law against parties holding primaries. Revolutionary general Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada , president of the party, had been in favor of primaries, but Alemán's viewpoint prevailed and PRI candidates were chosen in closed party assemblies. Sánchez was replaced as titular head of

7950-512: The PRI until 1976, and all state governors were also from the PRI until 1989. Throughout the seven decades that the PRI governed Mexico, the party used corporatism , co-option , electoral fraud , and political repression to maintain political power. In particular, the presidential elections of 1940 , 1952 and 1988 were characterized by massive irregularities and fraudulent practices denounced by both domestic and international observers. While Mexico benefited from an economic boom which improved

8100-499: The PRI's overwhelming dominance, and its control of the electoral apparatus, the president chose his successor. The PRI's dominance was near-absolute at all other levels as well. It held an overwhelming majority in the Chamber of Deputies , as well as every seat in the Senate and every state governorship. The political stability and economic prosperity in the late 1940s and the 1950s benefited

8250-528: The PRI, that were fully operative until the 1990s. The most important was the dedazo , with the finger ( Spanish : dedo ) of the president pointing to the next PRI candidate for the presidency, meaning the president choosing his successor. Right up to the moment the president considered optimal, several pre-candidates would attempt to demonstrate their loyalty to the President and their high competence in their respective positions, usually as prominent members of

8400-459: The PRM's "[f]or a workers' democracy" ( Por una democracia de trabajadores ) to the PRI's "[d]emocracy and justice" ( Democracia y justicia ). In practice after Cárdenas left office, the party became more centrist, and his more radical agrarian policies were abandoned. With Lombardo Toledano's replacement as leader of the CTM, labor under the CTM's Fidel Velázquez became even more closely identified with

8550-410: The PRM. Lombardo stepped down from the leadership of the CTM in 1941, after Cárdenas left the presidency. He was replaced by Fidel Velázquez , who remained head of the CTM until his death at age 97. Within the party structure and the government, labor has had a continuous, formalized, visual corporate role, but with Velazquez's death in 1997, organized labor has fractured. Peasants were organized via

8700-562: The Republic . Formed from an amalgamation of the various ideologies of the Constitutionalists , the party originated as a centre-left party on the political spectrum . It experienced a sharp, leftward turn during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas who instituted extensive reforms, including the nationalization of Mexico's petroleum and telecommunication industries. Furthermore his administration carried out extensive land reform and oversaw

8850-438: The Revolution from the front lines. Although all three muralists were communists, Siqueiros was the most dedicated, as evidenced by his portrayals of the proletarian masses. His work is also characterized with rapid, sweeping, bold lines and the use of modern enamels, machinery and other elements related to technology. His style showed a "futurist blurring of form and technique." His fascination with technology as it relates to art

9000-537: The Revolution in the north, serving with Calles. The Jefe Máximo had no idea that Cárdenas would take his own path as he settled into the presidency. He had campaigned widely throughout the country, making a national reputation for himself and forming personal connections throughout the country outside the corridors of power. Calles had become increasingly conservative in his views, ending land reform for all practical purposes and cracking down on organized labor. Under Cárdenas, unions went on strike and were not suppressed by

9150-429: The age of 16. These factors combined to decrease the pull of the past. The policies promoting industrial growth helped fuel the growth of Mexico's north as a center of economic dynamism, with the city of Monterrey becoming Mexico's second-largest. The general economic prosperity served to legitimize PRI hegemony in the eyes of most Mexicans, and for decades the party faced no real opposition on any level of government. On

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9300-540: The armed phase of the Mexican Revolution had ended in 1920, Mexico continued to encounter political unrest. A grave political crisis caused by the July 1928 assassination of president -elect Álvaro Obregón led to the founding on 4 March 1929 of the National Revolutionary Party ( Spanish : Partido Nacional Revolucionario , PNR) by Plutarco Elías Calles , Mexico's president from 1924 to 1928. Emilio Portes Gil

9450-509: The artists was Siqueiros, who worked with pyroxene , a commercial enamel, and Duco (used to paint cars), resins, asbestos and old machinery, and was one of the first to use airbrush for artistic purposes. He pored, sprayed, dripped and splattered paint for the effects they created haphazardly. By far, the three most influential muralists from the 20th century are Diego Rivera , José Clemente Orozco , and David Siqueiros , called "los tres grandes" (the three great ones). All believed that art

9600-404: The artists' own negative views toward the role of capitalism during the Revolution, and how the proletariat Mexican citizens were being overlooked and taken advantage of by the Bourgeoise. The emotional toll of war is also highlighted by the reaction of a frightened, on-looking mother and child pair, further reflecting the artist's own reactions toward capitalism. Among all of the pessimistic imagery

9750-476: The arts. On this, the painters and the government agreed. One other point of agreement was that artists should have complete freedom of expression. This would lead to another element added to the murals over their development. In addition to the original ideas of a reconstructed Mexico and the elevation of Mexico's indigenous and rural identity, many of the muralists, including the three main painters, also included elements of Marxism , especially in trying to frame

9900-464: The assassination of president-elect Álvaro Obregón in 1928. Although Calles himself fell into political disgrace and was exiled in 1936, the party continued ruling Mexico until 2000, changing names twice until it became the PRI. The PRI governed Mexico as a one-party state for the majority of the twentieth century; besides holding the Presidency of the Republic, all members of the Senate belonged to

10050-594: The attention of the masses. While many of the themes are shared between artists, the work of each artist was distinctive as the government did not impose a set style. These artists were so distinctive that they can generally be deduced without needing to look at the artist's signatures. Techniques used in the production of these murals also included the revival of old techniques such as the fresco , painting on freshly plastered walls and encaustic or hot wax painting . Others used mosaics and high fire ceramics, as well as metal parts, and layers of cement. The most innovative of

10200-509: The bourgeoisie citizens of society. As the country underwent this reformation, General Obregón realized that the reconstruction of a post-revolution Mexico would require a comprehensive alteration of symbols associated with Mexican identity on both cultural and political grounds. Shortly after the wars end, Obregón appointed José Vasconcelos to act as the Secretaría de Educación Pública , or Minister of Public Education. In his efforts to help raise

10350-451: The cabinet. Until the 2000 election, the party had no direct input into the president's decision, although he could consult with constituencies. The president's decision was a closely-kept secret, even from the victor. The destape (the unveiling), that is, the announcement of the president's choice, would occur at the PRI's National Assembly (which would typically take place in November of

10500-562: The candidate in 1988, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas and Porfirio Muñoz Ledo left the PRI to form a separate party, and Cárdenas challenged Salinas at the polls. The 1988 presidential election which followed is widely considered to have been fraudulent, and was confirmed as such by former president Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado and in an analysis by the American Political Science Review . The term alquimistas (alchemists) referred to PRI specialists in vote-rigging. To achieve

10650-556: The conflict between the two generals, the Church sided with Cárdenas. Cárdenas had Calles arrested along with many of his allies, exiling the former president to the United States. Cárdenas became perhaps Mexico's most popular 20th-century president, most renowned for the 1938 expropriating the oil interests of the United States and European petroleum companies in the run-up to World War II . That same year Cárdenas put his own stamp on

10800-416: The constitutional change to allow a form of re-election, he was ineligible to run. The founding of a national political party that had an existence beyond elections became the mechanism to control the power through peaceful means. The party had two names before taking its third and current name; however, its core has remained the same. It has been characterized as "in the 1960s as 'strongly dominant party', in

10950-503: The corporatist model is most often associated with fascism , whose rise in Germany and Italy in the 1930s coincided with Cárdenas's presidency. But Cárdenas was emphatically opposed to fascism; however, he created the PRM and organized the Mexican state on authoritarian lines. That reorganization can be seen as the enduring legacy of the Cárdenas presidency. Although the PRM was reorganized into

11100-533: The country had endured during the war. However, the three were different in their artistic expression. To summarize the general types of contributions the Three Greats made, Rivera's works were utopian and idealist, Orozco's were critical and pessimistic, while the most radical of the three was Siqueiros, who heavily focused on a scientific future. Their different points of view were shaped by their own personal experiences with Mexican Revolution . In Rivera case, he

11250-491: The country's best artists to paint murals, calling some of them home from their time in Europe, including Diego Rivera . These initial muralists included Dr. Atl, Ramón Alva de la Canal , Federico Cantú and others but the main three artists that spearheaded the muralist project were David Alfaro Siqueiros , José Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera . These three artists, commonly known as " Los Tres Grandes", claimed to act as both

11400-450: The country. Siqueiros did not fare as well. He was exiled to the US from Mexico in 1932, moving to Los Angeles . During this time, he painted three murals, but they were painted over. The only one of the three to survive, América Tropical (full name: América Tropical: Oprimida y Destrozada por los Imperialismos , or Tropical America: Oppressed and Destroyed by Imperialism ), was restored by

11550-475: The end of his term. This would have been a violation of the no re-election principle of post-revolutionary Mexico, which had its origins in the 19th century. With the support of the revolutionary army, the Sonoran generals' Plan of Agua Prieta successfully challenged Carranza's attempt to perpetuate his power; Carranza was killed as he was fleeing the country. De la Huerta became interim president of Mexico and Obregón

11700-524: The end of the post-revolutionary period in Mexico as well as the renaissance era of the muralist movement. The conclusion of the Lázaro Cárdenas administration (1934 – 1940) and the beginning of the Manuel Avila Camacho (1940 – 1946) administration saw the rise of an ultraconservative Mexico. The country's policy was aimed at maintaining and strengthening a capitalist society. Mural artists like

11850-498: The escalation of the Mexican drug war , and rising crime led to PRI nominee José Antonio Meade losing the 2018 presidential election with the worst performance in the party's history. The adherents of the PRI are known in Mexico as Priístas and the party is nicknamed El tricolor (the Tricolor) because of its use of the Mexican national colors of green, white and red as they appear on the Mexican flag . Some scholars characterise

12000-497: The evil and brutal higher economic class. His work was somber and dire, with emphasis on human suffering and fear of the technology of the future, intent on displaying the reality of the war. His work shows an "expressionist use of color, slashing lines, and parodic distortions of the human figure." Like most other muralists, Orozco condemned the Spanish as destroyers of indigenous culture, but he did have kinder depictions such as that of

12150-410: The extreme of murder of Vasconcelos supporters. Ortiz Rubio won the election in a landslide, but the results would likely have been different were the election clean. The party did largely contain the political violence of former revolutionary generals. In the first years of the party's existence, the PNR was the only political machine in existence. During this period, known as Maximato (named after

12300-399: The fertility of the land, and exudes a dominant, life-affirming energy which triumphs artistically against the injustices depicted elsewhere. This artwork sits as the final site to be seen, representing Rivera's view of what the Mexican revolution would bring – a free and productive earth in which natural forces being able to be harnessed for the benefit of man. To say Liberated Earth acts as

12450-399: The forefront of Western art in the 20th century with its influence spreading abroad, especially promoting the idea of mural painting as a form of promoting social and political ideas. It offered an alternative to non-representational abstraction after World War I with figurative works that reflect society and its immediate concerns. While most Mexican muralists had little desire to be part of

12600-557: The formation of the party in 1929. In 1920, the Sonorans staged a coup against President Venustiano Carranza , the civilian First Chief of the Constitutionalist faction that had won the Mexican Revolution . Carranza had attempted to impose his own candidate for the presidency, Ignacio Bonillas . Bonillas had zero revolutionary credentials and no power base of his own, with the implication that Carranza intended to hold onto power after

12750-549: The government. As Cárdenas increasingly diverged in his thinking and practice from Calles, Calles sought to regain control. Cárdenas, however, had outmaneuvered Calles politically, gaining allies among labor unions and peasants as well as the Catholic Church. Calles had attempted to strictly enforce the anticlerical provisions of the Constitution, which led directly to conflict with the Catholic Church and its loyalists, so that in

12900-546: The idea that Mexican art should reflect Mexican life. Academy training and the government had only promoted imitations of European art. Atl and other early muralists pressured the Diaz government to allow them to paint on building walls to escape this formalism. Atl also organized an independent exhibition of native Mexican artists promoting many indigenous and national themes along with color schemes that would later appear in mural painting. The first modern Mexican mural, painted by Atl,

13050-477: The indigenous roots that have shaped Latin Americans and Mexicans. At the time, it was rare for a woman to have such popularity and independence, but despite working in a heavily male dominated field, Lazo successfully managed to become a muralist. While she was originally from Guatemala, Huerta began to grow fond of Mexico during her collaboration with Rivera despite originally being from Guatemala, ultimately showing

13200-544: The influence that the Mexican Revolution had through her artwork. Considered one of the first female artists of the Mexican muralism movement, she painted several murals, the most important one being located at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. Partido Revolucionario Institucional The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( Spanish : Partido Revolucionario Institucional , Spanish: [paɾˈtiðo reβolusjoˈnaɾjo jnstitusjoˈnal] , PRI )

13350-609: The initial years painting murals under government supervision. These struggles with the post-revolution government lead the muralists to create a union of artists and produce a radical manifesto. José Vasconcelos , the Secretary of Public Education under President Álvaro Obregón (1920–24) contracted Rivera, Siqueiros, and Orozco to pursue painting with the moral and financial support of the new post-revolutionary government. Vasconcelos, while seeking to promote nationalism and " la raza cósmica ," seemed to contradict this sentiment as he guided

13500-587: The international art scene, their influence spread to other parts of the Americas. Muralists influenced by Mexican muralism include Carlos Mérida of Guatemala , Oswaldo Guayasamín of Ecuador and Candido Portinari of Brazil . Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros all spent time in the United States. Orozco was the first to paint murals in the late 1920s at Pomona College in Claremont, California , staying until 1934 and becoming popular with academic institutions. During

13650-502: The labor vote at election time, a guaranteed base of support for the party. During prosperous years, CTM could argue for benefits of the rank-and-file, such as higher wages, networking to provide jobs for union loyalists, and job security. The principle of no-reelection did not apply to the CTM, so that the party loyalist Velázquez provided decades of continuity even as the presidency changed every six years. The PRI won every presidential election from 1929 to 1982, by well over 70 percent of

13800-560: The largest campaign of land expropriation in Latin American history. With his term expiring in 1940 Cárdenas left office as the final military general of the revolution and returned political power to civilian leadership . His successor Manuel Ávila Camacho , presided over a rightward shift that escalated in the 1980s. At the start of the decade, the party moved to the centre-right and later right pursuing policies such as privatizing state-run companies, establishing closer relations with

13950-465: The major opposition party, winning the presidency in 2000. The most powerful labor union prior to the formation of the party was the Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM), headed by Luis N. Morones , an ally of Obregón and Calles. A dissident within the CROM, Marxist Vicente Lombardo Toledano , formed a rival labor confederation, the CTM in 1936, which became the mass organization of labor within

14100-477: The membership in a conciliatory fashion, but Morones launched into a diatribe against Emilio Portes Gil , the interim president of Mexico, for disrespecting Morones personally. It was a political gaffe for Calles, and he withdrew from the organizing committee of the party, but he turned it to his advantage in the long run, appearing to be a referee or arbiter in the party, and impartial senior statesman. The PNR incorporated other political parties under its umbrella,

14250-625: The middle class sector by the Federation of Unions of Workers in Service to the State (FSTSE). The party incorporated the majority of Mexicans through their mass organizations, but absent from the structure for ideological reasons were two important groups, private business interests and adherents of the Catholic Church. Those two came together in 1939 to form the National Action Party , which grew to be

14400-470: The mood was changing as well, with Carlos Fuentes publishing The Death of Artemio Cruz ( La Muerte de Artemio Cruz ) in 1962, metaphorically the death of the ideals of the Mexican Revolution. The fictional Cruz had been a revolutionary soldier, corrupt politician, and businessman, now on his deathbed. Considered a landmark in Latin American literature, it highlighted aspects of Mexican history and its political system. When Alemán became president in 1946,

14550-569: The more well-known murals of the movement. It is not a school in the classic sense of the word as it includes work by more than one generation and with different styles that sometimes clash. However, it does involve a number of important characteristics. Mexican School mural painting was a combination of public ideals and artistic aesthetics "positioned as a constituent of the official public sphere." Three formal components of official Mexican muralism are defined as: 1) Direct participation in official publicity and discourse 2) Reciprocal integration of

14700-417: The most influential mural artists of the period, Rufino Tamayo also contributed to the movement of the 1920s. Tamayo was younger than the Big Three and he often argued against their attitudes. He argued against their isolationist work after his art studies in Europe where he became heavily influenced by post World War II abstractions. He believed that the Mexican Revolution would ultimately harm Mexico due to

14850-502: The mostly-agrarian country, funded generous welfare subsidies for the working class, and fueled considerable advances in communication and transportation infrastructure. This period of commercial growth created a significant urban middle class of white-collar bureaucrats and office workers, and allowed high-ranking PRI officials to graft large personal fortunes through their control over state-funded programs. State monopoly over key industries like electricity and telecommunication allowed

15000-409: The mural production glorified indigenismo , or the indigenous aspect of Mexican culture as artists of the movement collectively considered it to be an important factor in the reconstruction of a more modern Mexico. These themes were added with the idea of reexamining the country's history from a different perspective. One other aspect that most of the muralists shared was a rejection of the idea that art

15150-442: The muralism movement. Through the war and until 1921, Atl continued to paint murals among other activities including teaching the Mexico's next generation of artists and muralists. In 1921, after the end of the military phase of the Revolution, General Alvaro Obregón rose to power. In the aftermath of the Revolution, Mexico had entered a transition from an "oligarchic" state to a "modernizing" state, one that favored urbanization and

15300-549: The muralists to create works in a classic, European style. The murals became a target of Vasconcelos's criticism when the Big Three departed from classical proportion and figure. Siqueiros was dissatisfied with the incongruity between the murals and the revolutionary concerns of the muralists, and he advocated discussion among the artists of their future works. In 1922 the muralists founded the Union of Revolutionary Technical Workers, Painters, and Sculptors of Mexico. The Union then released

15450-406: The nation in preparation for the crises of the 1970s and 1980s. The consensus specifically held that Mexico would be capitalist in its economic model; that the masses of workers and peasants would be kept in check – as separate units and not allowed to merge into a single sector that would have too much strength; that the state and the party would be the agent for this control; and that

15600-562: The party and structured them into mass organizations to represent different interest groups within the party, to protect the interests of workers and peasants. The PRM had four sectors: labor, peasant ( campesino ), "popular", mainly teachers and civil servants; and the military. The labor section was organized via the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM); the peasant sector by the National Confederation of Campesinos , (CNC); and

15750-425: The party continued for the workers, peasants, and the popular sector, but the military was no longer represented by its own sector. The Mexican president was at the apex of the political system with the PRI. To reach the top of the government, as the candidate and then president of the republic, the path was only through membership and leadership in the party and government service. Within the party, there were factions,

15900-498: The party rather than allow it to be a separate group outside the party and potentially a politically interventionist force. Although some critics questioned the military's incorporation into the party, Cárdenas saw it as a way to assert civilian control. He is quoted as saying, "We did not put the Army in politics. It was already there. In fact it had been dominating the situation, and we did well to reduce its voice to one in four." In general,

16050-611: The party, reorganizing it in 1938 as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (Spanish: Partido de la Revolución Mexicana , PRM) whose aim was to establish a democracy of workers and socialism. However, this was never achieved. Cárdenas's intention was to establish the broad-based political alliances necessary for the party's long-term survival, as a national party with territorial presence in state and municipal governments, and organization of mass interest groups, via corporatism . The structure he established has remained intact. He created sectors of

16200-518: The party, so that in general Mexicans did not object to the lack of real democracy. Starting with the Alemán administration (1946–1952) until 1970, Mexico embarked on a sustained period of economic growth, dubbed the Mexican Miracle , fueled by import substitution and low inflation . From 1940 to 1970 GDP increased sixfold while the population only doubled, and peso - dollar parity was maintained at

16350-533: The party. The more radical left of the labor movement, under Vicente Lombardo Toledano, split from the PRI, the Partido Popular. Although the party gave voice to workers' demands, since it was outside the umbrella of the PRI and lost power and influence. The leadership of component unions became advocates of PRI policy at the expense of the rank and file in exchange for political backing from the party and financial benefits. These charro ("cowboy") unions turned out

16500-406: The party." Cárdenas followed the pattern of Calles and Obregón before him, designating his choice in the upcoming elections; for Cárdenas this was Manuel Ávila Camacho . In the 1940 election, Ávila Camacho's main rival was former revolutionary general Juan Andreu Almazán , with PRM victory coming via fraud after a violent campaign period. Cárdenas is said to have secured the support of the CTM and

16650-562: The past and present. Within this last context, the torture of Cuauhtémoc was painted by Siqueiros in 1950 in the Palacio Nacional, one of his few depictions of indigenous cultures of any period. Many of the murals from the muralist project took on monumental status because of where they were situated, mostly on the walls of colonial era government buildings and the themes that were painted. The mural painters of Mexico freely shared ideas and techniques in public spaces in order to capture

16800-408: The point of ridicule and mockery; and denunciation of the national, and especially, international ruling classes" were also themes present in the murals at this time. These served as a form of cohesion among members of the movement. The political and nationalistic aspects had little directly to do with the Mexican Revolution, especially in the later decades of the movement. The goal was more to glorify

16950-524: The pre-Columbian period as well as incorporating his own perspective of the Mexican Revolution. One of the best examples of Rivera's perspective on the revolution can be seen in his mural at the chapel of the Chapingo Autonomous University (murals) The most dominant artwork in this mural is The Liberated Earth 1926-27 Fresco which depicts Rivera's second wife, Guadalupe Marín , Voluptuous and recumbent, hand held aloft, she symbolizes

17100-471: The principle of no-re-election in the Mexican Constitution, the two Sonorans sought a loophole to allow the former president to run. The Constitution was amended to allow re-election if the terms were not-consecutive. With that change, Obregón ran in the 1928 election and won; but before his inauguration he was assassinated by a religious fanatic. Given that Calles had just served as president, even with

17250-411: The problem of presidential succession with no institutional structures. Obregón was one of three revolutionary generals from Sonora, with Plutarco Elías Calles and Adolfo de la Huerta , who were important for the post-revolutionary history of Mexico. Their collective and then internecine struggles for power in the decade after the end of the military phase of the Mexican Revolution had a direct impact on

17400-439: The progressive attitudes that were arising. When he returned to Mexico after staying in Europe, he wanted his artwork to express pre-Conquest art but in his own abstract style. Tamayo was heavily influenced by the early pre-Columbian history of Mexico and it is evident in his piece titled "Nacimiento de Nuestra Nacionalidad". He expresses the violence that was used during the Spanish conquest of native Mexicans. The center shows

17550-455: The quality of life of most people and created political stability during the early decades of the party's rule, issues such as inequality, corruption, and a lack of political freedoms cultivated growing opposition against the PRI. Amid the global climate of social unrest in 1968 dissidents, primarily students, protested during the Olympic games held in Mexico City. Tensions escalated culminating in

17700-501: The rare occasions when an opposition candidate, usually from the conservative National Action Party , whose strength was in Mexico's north, garnered a majority of votes in an election, the PRI often used its control of local government to rig election results in its favor. Voter apathy was characteristic in this period, with low turnout in elections. The PRI co-opted criticism by incorporating sectors of society into its hierarchy. PRI-controlled labor unions (" charro unions") maintained

17850-591: The representational space of the mural image Most painters in this school worked in Mexico City or other cities in Mexico , working almost uninterrupted on projects and/or as teachers, generally with support of the government. Most were concerned with the history and identity of Mexico and politically active. Most art from this school was not created for direct sale but rather for diffusion in both Mexico and abroad. Most were formally trained, often studying in Europe and/or in

18000-418: The revolution itself, highlighting its results as a means to legitimatize the post Revolution government. The other political orientation was that of Marxism , especially class struggle. This political group grew strongest in the early movement with Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros all of which being openly avowed communists. The political messages became less radical but they remained firmly to the left. Much of

18150-436: The second was for six years, from 2012 to 2018. The PNR was founded in 1929 by Plutarco Elías Calles , Mexico's paramount leader at the time and self-proclaimed Jefe Máximo (Supreme Chief) of the Mexican Revolution . The party was created with the intent of providing a political space in which all the surviving leaders and combatants of the Mexican Revolution could participate to solve the severe political crisis caused by

18300-497: The specter of renewed violence. Calles succeeded Obregón in 1924, and shortly thereafter he began enforcing the restrictions on the Catholic Church in the year of 1917 Constitution, resulting in a huge rebellion by those opposed to such restrictions, known as the Cristero War (1926–29). The Cristero War was ongoing when elections were to be held. Obregón sought to run again for the presidency in 1928 to succeed Calles, but because of

18450-401: The state and private entrepreneurs would compete in the mixed economy. So long as there was general prosperity, the system was stable economically and politically. Political balance meant that sectors had a voice within the party, but the party and the state were the arbiters of the system. Those supporting the system received material rewards that the state distributed. In this period, there was

18600-454: The state, but there was considerable pushback from the labor sector and the CTM, which would have lost influence, along with the other sectors. The structure of the party remained sectoral, but the Alemanistas abandoned the goal that had been "the preparation of the people for the implementation of a workers' democracy and for the arrival of a socialist regime." The party slogan was changed from

18750-417: The struggle of the working class against oppression. This struggle, which had been going on since the sixteenth century, along with class, culture, and race conflicts were interpreted by muralists. The inception and early years of Mexico's muralist movement are often considered the most ideologically pure and untainted by contradictions between socialist ideals and government manipulation. This initial phase

18900-418: The term "revolution" may imply the destruction of institutions. According to Rubén Gallo , the concept of institutionalizing the revolution refers to the corporatist nature of the party; the PRI subsumed the "disruptive energy" of the Mexican Revolution by co-opting and incorporating its enemies into the party's bureaucratic régime. There is a lexicon of terms used to describe people and practices of

19050-441: The time they were controversial, especially those with socialist messages plastered on centuries-old colonial buildings. One of the basic underpinnings of the nascence of a post revolutionary Mexican art was that it should be public, available to the citizenry and above all not the province of a few wealthy collectors. The great societal upheaval made the concept possible as well as a lack of relatively wealthy middle class to support

19200-435: The title Calles gave himself as "Maximum Chief of the Revolution"), Calles remained the dominant leader of the country and Ortiz Rubio (1929–32) and Abelardo L. Rodríguez (1932-34), have been considered in practice subordinates of Calles. Calles chose revolutionary general Lázaro Cárdenas as the PNR candidate for the 1934 Mexican general election . Cárdenas was originally from the southern state of Michoacan, but he joined

19350-433: The utilization of murals during the pre-Hispanic and the colonial period, the murals were not to simply satisfy aesthetic purposes, but to promote certain social ideals in the Mexican people. These ideals or principles were to glorify the Mexican Revolution and the identity of Mexico as a mestizo nation. This placed great emphasis on the pride associated with the indigenous culture of Mexico. The government began to hire

19500-454: The visual discourse of the mural to an array of communicative practices participant in defining official publicity (including a variety of scriptural genres, but also public speech, debate and provocative public "event") 3) The development and public thematizing of a social-realist aesthetic (albeit multiform in character) as the visual register for the public sense of the mural work and as the doxic, or unquestioned, limits for public dispute over

19650-413: The vote – margins that were usually obtained by massive electoral frauds. Toward the end of his term, the incumbent president in consultation with party leaders, selected the PRI's candidate in the next election in a procedure known as "the tap of the finger" ( Spanish : el dedazo ), which was integral in the continued success of the PRI towards the end of the 20th century. In essence, given

19800-415: The war and the soldiers that fought for the revolution – that they will be forgotten, despite their courageous sacrifice in hopes of a brighter future. From this more violent and realistic representation of the revolution, Orozco's aim is to get viewers to question if the revolutionary war was worth the sacrifices made. These artworks sparked massive controversy, even leading to the defacing of this mural, but

19950-527: The year prior to the elections), with losing pre-candidates learning only then themselves. Once the destape occurred, in general the members of the PRI would demonstrate their enthusiasm for the candidate and their loyalty to the party, known as the cargada . But the destape was also a delicate moment, for party unity depended on the losers acceding to the president's choice without public rancor or dissent. When President Miguel de la Madrid (in office: 1982 to 1988) chose Carlos Salinas de Gortari as

20100-418: Was a series of female nudes using "Atlcolor", a substance Atl invented himself, very shortly before the beginning of the Mexican Revolution . Another influence on the young artists of the late Porfirian period was the graphic work of José Guadalupe Posada , who mocked European styles and created cartoons with social and political criticism. Critiquing the political policies of the Díaz dictatorship through art

20250-572: Was a writer and feminist. In her lifetime, she was able to create only three murals. She captured the true essence of the Mexican Muralist movement through her passion and ability to keep Mexican culture viable. As Rina Lazo worked alongside Rivera, she became heavily influenced by his artwork and even helped him on one of the most outstanding murals of the Mexican Revolution: " Sueno de Una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central " ( Dream of

20400-537: Was dominated politically by the Porfirio Díaz regime. This government was the first to push for the cultural development of the country, supporting the Academy of San Carlos and sending promising artists abroad to study. However, this effort left out indigenous culture and people, with the aim of making Mexico like Europe . Gerardo Murillo, also known as Dr. Atl , is considered to be the first modern Mexican muralist with

20550-429: Was elected president for a four-year term, 1920–1924. As Obregón's four-year term was ending, Calles made a bid for the presidency. De la Huerta, a fellow Sonoran, challenged Calles with a massive and bloody uprising, supported by other revolutionary generals opposed to Calles. The De la Huerta rebellion was crushed, but the outbreak of violence was only a few years after the apparent end of the Mexican Revolution, raising

20700-573: Was exemplified when he emphasized the mass communications visual technology of photograph and motion picture in his eventual movement toward neorealism. His radical politics made him unwelcome in Mexico and the United States , so he did much of his work in South America . However, his masterpiece is considered to be the Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros , located in Mexico City. While Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros are usually regarded as

20850-419: Was formed in 1943 to integrate sectors of the urban middle class into the party. Unlike the peasantry or labor, the popular sector was a more ill-defined segment, but it did include the large Federation of Unions of Civil Servants ( Federación de Sindicatos de Trabajadores al Servicio del Estado (FSTSE). By incorporating the military into the PRM structure, Cárdenas's aim was to make it politically dependent on

21000-433: Was founded in 1929, the party structure created a means to control political power and to perpetuate it with regular elections validating the party's choice. Before the party was founded, political parties were not generally the means in which to achieve the presidency. The creation of the party in the wake of the assassination of revolutionary general, former president, and in 1928 president-elect Alvaro Obregón had laid bare

21150-460: Was held, the first political test of the newly founded party. Calles made a speech in June 1929 saying that while the Revolution had produced achievements in the economic and social spheres that in the political sphere it was a failure. He called for a "struggle of ideas" that invited the formation of new parties. The PNR had as its candidate Pascual Ortiz Rubio , but running against him as the candidate for

21300-473: Was in Europe during the revolution and had never experienced the horrors of the war. While never experiencing the war first hand, his art primarily focused on what he perceived to be the social benefits from the revolution. Orozco and Siqueiros, on the other hand, both fought in the war, which subsequently resulted in a more pessimistic approach to their artwork when depicting the revolution; with Siqueros' artwork being notably more radical and focused on portraying

21450-452: Was interim president of Mexico from December 1928 until February 1930, while a political rather than military solution was sought for presidential succession. The intent to found the party was to institutionalize the power of particular victors of Mexican Revolution . Calles was ineligible to run for president, since he had just completed a four-year term, because of the prohibition in the 1917 Constitution of re-election directly after serving

21600-792: Was on the three levels of interior walls of the old Jesuit institution Colegio San Ildefonso , at that time used for the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria . Most of the murals in the Escuela National Preparatoria, or National Preparatory School, were done by José Clemente Orozco with themes of a mestizo Mexico, the ideas of renovation, and the reality of the Revolution's violence. Also at the National Preparatory School, Fernando Leal painted Los Danzantes de Chalma (Dancers of Chalma) no earlier than 1922. Opposite that mural, Jean Charlot painted La conquista de Tenochtitlán (Conquest of Tenochtitlan) by Jean Charlot—invited by Leal. Rivera also contributed his first-ever government-backed mural to

21750-418: Was only for the elite, but rather as a benefit for the masses. The various reasons for the focus on ancient Mesoamerica may be divided into three basic categories: the desire to glorify the accomplishments of the perceived original cultures of the Mexican nation; the attempt to locate residual pre-Hispanic forms, practices, and beliefs among contemporaneous indigenous peoples; and the study of parallels between

21900-529: Was popularized by Posada. Posada influenced muralists to embrace and continue criticizing the Díaz dictatorship in their works. The muralists also embraced the characters and satire present in Posada's works. The Mexican Revolution itself was the culmination of political and social opposition to Porfirio Díaz policies. One important oppositional group was a small intellectual community that included Antonio Curo , Alfonso Reyes and José Vasconcelos . They promoted

22050-418: Was proud of his Mexican roots and expressed his nationalism in a more traditional way than Rivera or Siqueiros. His focus was on accepting both his Spanish and native background and ultimately expressing the way he felt through the colors, shapes and culture in a modern abstract way. Ultimately, Tamayo wanted the Mexican people to not forget their roots; it shows why he was so persistent in using inspiration from

22200-420: Was the brother-in-law of Calles's son, and was involved with Calles family businesses, but his political views were too far to the right of the PNR to be considered. Ideology trumped family connections. The choice fell to Pascual Ortiz Rubio , a revolutionary general who had been out the country, serving as Mexico's ambassador to Brazil, so had no political base in Mexico. When the 1929 Mexican general election

22350-422: Was the highest form of human expression and a key force in social revolution. Their work was the driving force that defined the movement originally set into motion by Vasconcelos. It created a mythology around the Mexican Revolution and the Mexican people which is still influential to this day, as well as promote Marxist ideals. At the time the works were painted, they also served as a form of catharsis over what

22500-408: Was then later repainted in 1926. Siqueiros brought a nuance to the idea of the Mexican Revolution. Although he held a radically negative opinion towards the revolution, he also depicted images of the scientific future while the other two artists' primary focus was on their experience and view on the revolution. In 1939 Siqueros, in collaboration with a group of other revolutionary artists, constructed

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