Viano An Introduction to the Murals

An Introduction to the Murals I’m going to use Lewisohn’s article as a guide to study some of the murals: their content (story) and style (making). In order to understand Lewisohn’s first line: “Everyone loves a well-told story whether in words or in paint” (11), we need to have some prior information on what we are looking at. The articles we have read in class (those dealing with Mexico’s history and the coming of the Revolution, as well as those articles by Moore and Abbott dealing with the interpretation of art), will certainly prepare us for the understanding of the murals. In his article, Lewisohn observes the following: “On the historical side the repression that the Mexican Indian has suffered since the Spanish invasion has created a reservoir of suppressed bitterness. This has supplied an intensity of conviction, which of course is one of the essential factors in great art” (11). Here the critic is telling us elements that the muralist is incorporating into his/her mural, some of which are real, like the Spanish invasion. But there’s something interesting here; Lewisohn mentions the words “suppressed", "bitterness” and “conviction”. This is powerful because here he is telling us that this art (mural) is more likely to have a purpose. Since murals are for the public to view without having to pay, this purpose is even more powerful. Let’s try to understand this Spanish invasion Lewisohn observes by looking, in the following order, at two of Rivera’s murals: The City of Tenochtitlan and Disembarkation of the Spanish at Vera Cruz. History is much more complex than this, but by looking at these two murals we will have an understanding of what Lewisohn means. The first mural The city of Tenochtitlan depicts a way of life, that of the Aztecs (the indigenous people) before the arrival of the Spanish. Tenochtitlan is now Mexico City. The second mural, Disembarkation of the Spanish, depicts the actual conquest and disruption of that way of life. And it is