MexicoCity.cdmx.gob.mx

< Go Back

Mural Paintings

Mural Paintings dominated the Mexican art scene for most of the first half of the 20th century. It's still often a characteristic of the arts today. In fact, some of those best represented in the sites we've listed are still alive and working. And Mexico City's Street Art of Today is well aware that its history begins in the years of the Mexican Revolution.

As a movement, it consolidated with the support of José Vasconcelos. He was the first Rector of the National University and later Secretary of Public Education. Perhaps most shocking, the mural painting movement is a decidedly anti-Modernist movement. Favoring figuration over abstraction, and social engagement, muralism grew to influence nearly every other field of art over the course of the 20th century. Coupled with the Functionalist architecture of the same period, mural painting gives you precisely the unique combination of styles, motifs, and legendary personalities that define the Mexico City of today.

It's a lot to look at. But the mural paintings remain prescient in the minds, hearts, and spirit of Mexico City residents - even now. Keep in mind, these listings don't include the thousands of much newer street-art murals still being produced in our own time. For a quick overview (heh heh), look down from Cablebús Line 2 over Iztapalapa. And keep your eyes peeled across the City.

16 - 28 of 28