#1 – JOSÉ CLEMENTE OROZCO (1883-1949)
Zapatistas, 1931
José Clemente Orozco was a painter who
helped lead the revival of Mexican mural
painting. His works are known for being
complex and intense, often focusing on
human suffering. Born November 23, 1883,
Orozco was a product of the Mexican
Revolution. He spent most of his childhood
in poverty. He would eventually travel to
the U.S. and Europe to paint murals for major institutions. His
masterpiece, which can be found in Guadalajara’s Hospicio
Cabañas, is a panorama of Mexico’s history. It is considered by
many as the “Sistine Chapel of the Americas”.
Source: http://www.biography.com/people/jos%C3%A9-clemente-orozco9429586#awesm=~oASDEuQaozESwx
#2 – DIEGO RIVERA (1886-1957)
La Molendera (The Corn Grinder), 1924
Painter and muralist Diego Rivera
wanted to make art that reflected the
lives of the working class and native
peoples of Mexico. Rivera was born on
December 8, 1886, in Guanajuato,
Mexico, and began drawing at age 10.
He studied art in Mexico and later in
Europe, where he met and was
influenced by other artists including Pablo Picasso. In 1921,
through a government program, he started a series of murals in
public buildings. Some of his murals were very controversial. In
1929 he married fellow Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
Source: http://www.diegorivera.org/
#3 – DAVID ALFARO SIQUEIROS (1896-1974)
From Porfirianism to the Revolution, 1964
David Alfaro Siqueiros was a Mexican
painter and muralist whose work
reflected his political views and
experiences. Born on December 29,
1896 in Chihuahua, Mexico, he would
later move to Mexico City to study art.
In 1922, he painted murals on the walls
of the National Preparatory School in
Mexico and began organizing and leading unions of artists and
workers. His Communist activities led to numerous jailings and
periods of exile. In the 1930s he painted murals in Los Angeles
and later opened an art school in New York.
Source: http://www.biography.com/people/david-alfaro-siqueiros9485144#awesm=~oAT4qwvdiU3JME
#4 – FRIDA KAHLO (1907-1954)
El Autobús (The Bus), 1929
Painter Frida Kahlo was a Mexican selfportrait artist. She was born on July 6, 1907,
in Coyocoán, a suburb of Mexico City, in the
Blue House (Casa Azul), which would later
become a museum. At the age of 18, Kahlo
was severely injured in a bus accident; it was
then that she started painting. Later she
became politically active and in 1929
married fellow Communist artist Diego Rivera. She lived in the
U.S. with Rivera and also spent time in Europe. Her works often
reflected her pain and suffering. Kahlo exhibited her paintings
in Paris and Mexico before her death in 1954.
Source: http://www.biography.com/people/frida-kahlo-9359496#studies-andinjury&awesm=~oAT71P8UOnn3I1