Art and the Mexican Revolution

In this free course, Art and the Mexican Revolution, you will explore one of Diego Rivera’s key murals which was commissioned by the Mexican government in the period after the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920. These monumental public artworks, designed to win over the Mexican peasantry and working-class to the new post-revolutionary state, brought Mexican mural artists international acclaim and Rivera was subsequently awarded important commissions in the United States. Yet, due to his commitment to a figurative form of propaganda, Rivera’s reputation suffered during the Cold War period and these Mexican murals are now largely left out of dominant accounts of twentieth-century United States art.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 The Mexican Revolution
• 1 The Mexican Revolution
• 2 History of Mexico
• 2 History of Mexico
• 3 The mural described
• 3 The mural described
• 4 The mural interpreted
• 4 The mural interpreted
• 5 Muralism and modernism
• 5 Muralism and modernism
• 6 Rivera in Gringolandia
• 6 Rivera in Gringolandia
• 7 Detroit Industry
• 7 Detroit Industry
• 8 The Rockefeller Center mural
• 8 The Rockefeller Center mural
• 9 Fridamania
• 9 Fridamania
• 10 The legacy of Mexican muralism
• 10 The legacy of Mexican muralism
• 11 Quiz
• 11 Quiz
• Conclusion
• Glossary
• References
• Acknowledgements