Murals have existed for thousands of years, from prehistoric cave paintings to modern street art. They serve to depict life, culture, history, and share political or social messages of the time. The Mexican muralism movement in the early 20th century, led by 'Los Tres Grandes' artists, used murals to promote national identity and unity following the Mexican Revolution. Today, murals around the world continue to communicate stories and messages through various artistic styles.

1. MURALISM

2. Without a doubt, murals have been around as long as people, as a form of valuable
testimony of life from the prehistoric time to today.
From the cave paintings at Lascaux Grotttoes in southern France to the street art
murals of today, people have been leaving signs of their own existence in many places
around the world.
It is because of the earliest scratchings, carvings, etchings and paintings that we now
have priceless knowledge of our history and predecessors, and these murals hold great
significance for mankind, as they depicted life activities, everyday scenery and usually
religious traditions of the time they were created in, giving us a priceless look of the
diversity of our cultures during different periods.
Over the course of time, murals have covered the interiors and exteriors of many public
buildings, such as palaces, temples, tombs, museums, libraries, churches and the
houses of rich art patrons, spreading onto the streets and architectural elements more
recently, all the while keeping their initial meaning and purpose: to paint a picture of
society, created from stories, values, dreams, change.

3. What is a mural?
The word mural originates from the Latin word
“murus”, meaning “wall”.
Today, we can define murals as any piece of artwork
painted or applied directly onto a wall, ceiling or
other larger permanent surfaces, flat, concave or
convex, to be precise.
A favorite technique of many artists, including
masters like Leonardo DaVinci and Michelangelo
Buonarroti, the art of muralism flourished during
the 1920s, after the Mexican revolution.
It is during this time that murals got a new
dimension as a powerful visual communication tool,
meant to promote the opinion of the people and to
transmit social and political messages towards
unity.
Part of Diego Rivera’s mural depicting Mexico’s history at the
National Palace in Mexico City.

4. Techniques
As murals cover quite large surfaces that could be of
different texture, constitution and attributes, their
authors have developed several techniques adaptive to
their “canvases”.
One of the oldest methods is fresco painting, which
sees paint applied on plaster on walls or ceilings. Mixed
with water and pigment on a wet plaster, the paint
interacts with air, causing a chemical reaction which
fixes the pigment particles in the plaster
Other known materials are tempera, oil painting,
acrylic painting, painting using brush, roller or
airbrush/aerosol.
More recently, artists have introduced digital
techniques of mural painting, such as wallscapes –
large advertisements, which could be painted on
directly or printed out as vinyl and then attached to a
surface.
Very often, murals are commissioned by patrons, public
institutions or large corporations
Shepard Fairey creating one of his trademark murals at the Santa Fe
University of Art and Design

5. Purpose and Function
• make a political or cultural statement
through art.
• Social activism/ propaganda
• Depict communities, nations and
cultures
• Often the intent is to instill pride in local
people about their culture and heritage
• Aesthetic purposes

6. AméricaTropical
During his time in Los Angeles, Siqueiros created
AméricaTropical, an 80x18 foot mural located
above Olvera Street, the birthplace of Los Angeles.
Completed in 1932, the mural depicts a Mexican
Indian crucified on a cross beneath an American
eagle, with two sharpshooters aiming at the eagle
from nearby.
The mural’s political message about the
exploitation of Mexican workers caused immediate
controversy, and it was soon completely
whitewashed. AméricaTropical was restored by the
Getty Conservation Institute and opened to the
public in October 2012

8. Stemming from a 1921 manifesto written by
Siqueiros, muralism was pitched as an art of
social and political engagement. Muralism
provides a chance to talk about the
intersection of art and politics, which may
seem commonplace now, but was widely
debated throughout the twentieth century.
What is the goal of art?To what extent is art
supposed to be autonomous and separated
from everyday life?
Does art that has a function cross the line from
art to propaganda, or is there a hazier area
between the two that is explored in works like
these?

9. Upper Paleolithic
38,000 BC
Murals of sorts date to Upper Paleolithic times such as
the paintings in the Chauvet Cave in Ardèche
department of southern France (around 30,000 BC).
Cave paintings are painted drawings on cave walls or
ceilings, mainly of prehistoric origin, to some 40,000
years ago (around 38,000 BCE) in both Asia and
Europe.
Evidence suggests that they were not merely
decorations of living areas since the caves in which
they have been found do not have signs of ongoing
habitation.They are also often located in areas of
caves that are not easily accessible.
Some theories hold that cave paintings may have been
a way of communicating with others, while other
theories ascribe a religious or ceremonial purpose to
them.
The paintings are remarkably similar around the world,
with animals being common subjects that give the
most impressive images. Humans mainly appear as
images of hands, mostly hand stencils made by
blowing pigment on a hand held to the wall.
Cueva de las Manos (Spanish for Cave of the Hands) in the
Santa Cruz province in Argentina

11. Ancient Egypt
Many ancient murals have survived in Egyptian
tombs (around 3150 BC),[
paint was applied to dried plaster, in what is called
"fresco a secco" in Italian
Many ancient Egyptian paintings have survived in
tombs, and sometimes temples, due to Egypt's
extremely dry climate.
The paintings were often made with the intent of
making a pleasant afterlife for the deceased.
The themes included journey through the
afterworld or protective deities introducing the
deceased to the gods of the underworld (such as
Osiris).
Some tomb paintings show activities that the
deceased were involved in when they were alive
and wished to carry on doing for eternity.
Wall painting of Nefertiti

12. Ancient Rome
The best surviving Ancient Roman murals
survive from the city of Pompeii (around
100BC-79AD)
Roman murals consist mostly of mythology,
religious scenes, battles and nature scenes.
Murals were used as decoration for the interior
of Roman villas.
Murals were also used to communicate basic
services to people, such as “fast food” and
brothels.

14. Mogao Grottoes
China
The first caves were dug out in 366 AD as places of
Buddhist meditation and worship.
492 caves known as the Magao Grottoes, dug into
a mile-long cliff face about 1,200 miles west of
Beijing
More than 9 miles long! 10 feet high
caves contain some of the finest examples of
Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years.[
The site escaped the persecution of Buddhists
ordered by Emperor Wuzong in 845

16. Bonampak
Maya
Mexico
791 AD
TheTemple of the Murals
Over 3 room- 281 human figures are represented
This is the scene of a regal event
In procession, celebration and performing human
sacrifice
Gives us insight to performances and processions
associated with human sacrifice.

17. Renaissance
Michelangelo. Sistine Ceiling.Vatican. Italy. 1477-1480

18. The Mexican mural
movement or
Mexican muralism
began as a government-funded form of public
art—specifically, large-scale wall paintings in civic
buildings—in the wake of the Mexican
Revolution (1910–20).The Revolution was a
massive civil war helmed by a number of factions
with charismatic leaders—Francisco Madero,
Venustiano Carranza, PanchoVilla, Emiliano
Zapata, to name a few—all of whom had very
specific political and social agendas. After the
Revolution, then, the government took on the
very difficult project of transforming a divided
Mexico of maderistas, carrancistas, villistas,
zapatistas, and so on, into a coherent nation of
mexicanos.
To do so, it needed to create an official history
of Mexico in which its citizens would find
themselves, and it needed a medium that could
propagate this to a largely poor, illiterate
populace. Enter Mexican muralism

19. LosTres Grandes
(TheThree Greats)
Out of a host of Mexican artists, three emerged as
its most devoted, celebrated, and prolific, to the
extent that they came to be referred to as los tres
grandes (“the three greats”):
José Clemente Orozco (1883–1949)
Diego Rivera (1886–1957)
David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896–1974).
Murals became the most important form of
expression, often the subject of controversy and
always a symbol of solidarity, freedom and hope
.The Mexican muralism art inspired the creation of
many other similar movements around the world,
the biggest being the Chicago art movement in the
1960s.

20. Diego Rivera
Through paint, Rivera and Los Tres Grandes
were able to create an identify for Mexico.
Create a history. And to serve as visual
reminders of the glorification of their
culture.

21. Os Gêmeos
(TheTwins)
Brazil
Subjects range from family portraits to
commentary on São Paulo's social and political
circumstances, as well as Brazilian folklore.Their
graffiti style was influenced by both traditional
hip hop style and the Brazilian culture
They’re some of the most renowned artists in
the world as far as big, public outdoor murals
Os Gemeos strayed away from the tradition of
graffiti-writing and embraced figuration.
But their most famous are really these yellow
figures with these red hoods. Symbol for the
unrepresentative people.

22. Ricardo Cavolo
Mexico 2014
Frida is surrounded by volcanoes, cactus, birds
with three eyes, tropical fruits and flowers, many
flowers, coming out from her head as if they were
a crown of thorns and flames.
Instead of a double eyebrow, Ricardo has painted
a large bird looking at the sky, and the battered
spine that kept Frida prostrate on the bed,
appears as well on the mural with flames of fire
and passion.
With all this, Ricardo Cavolo pays tribute to the art
of a country that he has always been attracted to
and where his work is understood naturally,
because connects wonderfully with Mexican
tradition, with its rituals, customs and
especially with Frida Kahlo

23. Jade Uno (Jade
Rivera)
Peru 2012
Growing up in an impoverished area of Lima,
Peru. Jade Uno was motivated to devote his
artwork to represent lower-class people who
are often looked past especially in regards to
economic development.
The street artist painted a reflection of the
social and environmental damages inflicted to
the inhabitants by the nearby mining pit.

24. Banksy
Banksy is an England-based graffiti artist,
political activist and film director of unverified
identity.
His satirical street art and subversive epigrams
combine dark humor with graffiti executed in a
distinctive stenciling technique.
His works of political and social commentary
have been featured on streets, walls, and
bridges of cities throughout the world
Shop UntilYou Drop in Mayfair, London.
Banksy has said "We can't do anything to change the world
until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go
shopping to console ourselves."

29. Tristan Eaton
L.A.-based artistTristan Eaton is a man of many
talents. He's not only a muralist and street artist,
but he's also a toy designer and illustrator.
His most popular street art are large-scale
murals: black and white images with bursts of
color and different layers revealing more
graphics.They feature images of faces, cultural
icons and cartoons

31. Morley
a prolific local street artist who does his best work
in wheatpaste with text.
Morley is a Los Angeles-based street artist that
specializes in bold, typographic posters which he
wheat pastes within the urban landscape.
Blending humor, hope and his unique perspective
on life, Morley’s aim is to act as a friendly voice
amongst the cacophony of billboarded messages
and corporate slogans.

33. WRDSMTH
, a Los Angeles transplant who was born in
Cleveland, Ohio, started a project with the
goal of putting up one new wheatpaste a
day throughout 2014
Just like many others in L.A., he moved out
here to pursue his dreams in the industry.
"I write things on walls that I wished people
would have said to me when I first moved
here," he said.

35. Fin DAC and Christina
Angelina
Fin DAC described his stencil and paint
style as being influenced by "dark graphic
novels through to the works of Francis
Bacon and Aubrey Beardsley," and "all
forms of Asian art."
His subjects are often Asian females from
urban environments.
While they have black-and-white elements
to them, they'll also have a pop of color in
the form of a mask around their eyes.
Fin DAC and Christina Angelina onWinston Street and Los
Angeles Street in downtown L.A. (

36. D*Face
His murals have tongue-in-cheek humor
and pay homage to Roy Lichtenstein's
comic strip-like art
D*Face's street art on a building located at 5427 Santa Monica
Blvd. in East Hollywood

37. EyeOne
Arizona's anti-immigrant law SB 1070

38. Retna
(Marquis Lewis)
The L.A.-based artist takes typography and lettering
to the next level. When he was a kid, he was
interested in the Old English lettering he'd see local
gangs use. Later, his work would be inspired by Asian
calligraphy, hieroglyphics, and Hebrew and Arabic
writing.
Retna explained whether his artwork is just visual or
has a message: "There’s a verbal element. It could be
a poem, it could be just stuff that I’m thinking about,
for me it’s just a very meditative process; I’m just
having a conversation with myself. Sometimes I allow
the music to influence what I’m writing. A lot of them
are names my mom would call me when I was
growing up, and some are things I’m talking about,
friends who have passed away—they’re interactions
with what’s going on with people that I just meet, or a
conversation I just had. I hear a word or a phrase or a
dialogue, and then that becomes my response.They
all say something."

39. El Mac
L.A.-native El Mac (AKA Miles "Mac"
MacGregor) has a penchant for painting
large-scale portrait murals that are striking
because they are both dreamlike and
photorealistic.
He's inspired by the Chicano movement
and Mexican culture he grew up around. His
murals can be seen internationally

40. Retna + El Mac
The tag team (pun intended) of El Mac and Retna
have created numerous murals that combine
photo-realism with urban iconography and
typography.
The duo’s murals in less trafficked areas are
exceptional and worth seeking out. Located at the
corner of Chesapeake and Jefferson, The Knight
features a man of ambiguous heritage in front of
both Spanish and English text.
The 2009 mural was created to promote peace
and harmony as a response to gangs.The text to
the right of the man and on the brim of the hat
quotes lyrics from Marvin Gaye’s classic, What’s
Going On.

42. Eduardo Kobra
“WelcomeTo Real
Brazil” Sao Paulo,
Brazil. 2014
Using his signature classic kaleidoscope technique,
the Brazilian artist and his team painted this
powerful statement in a time where all eyes are
pointed toward Brazil.
He addresses homeless and unemployment issues
that are currently on the raise in Brazil
The protests were primarily concerned with the
spending of billions of reais of public money on
stadiums for theWorld Cup