![]() The Jesuits arrived in the capital half a century after the Spanish conquest, in 1572, and a few years later they founded San Ildefonso, a school for seminarians and missionaries. Their objective was to educate the descendants of Spaniards – the “criollo” – who were born in the colony, Chávez said.īefore they were expelled from the Spanish Empire in 1767, the Jesuits travelled extensively. Hundreds of years before 1923, when the earliest murals were finished, this was the place where the Jesuits led their educational work. It is no coincidence that muralism was born in this place. “San Ildefonso has that reminiscence where the religious is present because it is part of the cultural identity of the people,” Chávez said. Some artists expressed their social and political views by painting divine figures or religious references.Ī 1924 fresco that José Clemente Orozco titled “La Alcancía” (“The Piggy Bank”) shows two slender hands depositing coins into a box that is open at the bottom and drops the money into another hand that looks more powerful and represents the Catholic Church.įor a few other muralists – such as Revueltas and Fernando Leal – the goal was to find new ways to portray what the military and spiritual conquest led by the Spaniards meant. ![]() Many of the wall paintings criticize political leaders, inequality or the Catholic Church because the young muralists were influenced by revolutionary nationalism and academic scholarship that transformed their ideas about the Indigenous population. Jonatan Chávez, historian of San Ildefonso, said that muralism arose in a highly politicized context. That mural, called “La Muerte de las Culturas” (“The Death of Cultures”), depicts how Mexicans of African descent struggled for freedom and equality, and how the community’s identity was forged from that. The exhibit, which is regularly updated, recently welcomed a contemporary mural created by Mexican craftsmen who were inspired by the old masters and will run through June 12. ![]() To honor the art of Revueltas, Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, who among others led the artistic movement a century ago, the baroque building that currently serves as a museum hosts an exhibition that reflects on the significance of their monumental art. The mural was created by Mexican artist Fermín Revueltas between 19, when the walls of Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso became the canvases for the country’s emerging muralist movement. Across the main entrance of a former Jesuit college in the heart of Mexico City, a bright-colored mural depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe represents both the Indigenous religiosity and the Christianity that shaped the culture of post-colonial Mexico. ![]()
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