Mural Painting and Social Revolution in Mexico, 1920–1940
Art of the New Order

Mural Painting and Social Revolution in Mexico, 1920–1940 is the first full-length account of this major movement in the history of Modernism. Following the Revolution of 1910, Mexican society underwent a profound transformation in every sector of political and cultural life. Mexican artists participated in this social revolution during a vital two-decade period through public art programmes funded by the government and other institutions. Applying a social-historical methodology, Leonard Folgarait examines this phenomenon and focuses on the mural paintings of Diego Rivera, José Orozco, and David Siqueiros produced during this period. He provides an indepth analysis of the form and meaning of these mural cycles, while documenting the system of patronage, the critical connections between state policy and aesthetics, and the visual strategies devised by patrons and artists in order to maximise the impact of these propagandistic images.

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'… this book offers a compelling answer to the question of just how the deeply anarchic works of Rivera and Siqueiros could have ended up on the walls of buildings which - like Mexico City's National Palace - were the embodiment of repressive governmental order.' The Times Literary Supplement

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Product details

• Date Published: September 1998
• format: Hardback
• isbn: 9780521581479
• length: 288 pages

• dimensions: 226 x 286 x 24 mm
• weight: 1.23kg
• contains: 99 b/w illus. 18 colour illus.
• availability: Unavailable - out of print February 2003