How Mural painting became popular
Want to know more about a mural painting? A mural comes from a Latin term murus which implies a wall. To begin with, murals hold significance for mankind. Fact is a mural is a painting on a wall. The mural painting dates back to pre-historic times where cavemen popularly decorated their caves with cave paints.
A wall mural painting can cover both exterior and interior part of a public building like a palace, tomb, museum, and church or library. A mural painter can use canvases to hang the mural painting on a wall. Alternatively, the painter can paint directly onto a surface like a wall.
In the 1920s after the Mexican revolution, mural art became a powerful tool for promoting people’s opinion and spreading the message of unity. The three famous Mexican muralists Siqueiros, Orozco, and Rivera were at the forefront of Mexican Cultural Revolution. After war-ravaged Mexico in the thick of 1910 to1920, the government decided to commit to educating its illiterate masses. The ruling class gave palaces and homes the societal-cultural life.
Nature of a mural painting
A wall mural painting organically connects with architecture. Mural painting is a 3-D painting because it modifies and partakes a given space. Here are a few techniques used in the history of wall mural painting:
- fresco painting
- encaustic painting
- tempera painting
- oil paint on canvas
- liquid silicate
Renaissance and mural painting
During the period of renaissance art was a prominent feature particularly in Europe. The politicians commissioned great artists especially the Papal States Venice and Milan. The artistic talent of Leonardo Da Vinci the 15-Century mural painting, The Last Supper is one of his most recognizable paintings. The mural painting covers the end wall of the dining hall of Santa Maria Delle Grazie church in Italy.
Michelangelo was an ancient mural artist who chose to express his deep thoughts through art example, the Battle of Cascina. It was one of his greatest piece of art. Though he never completed the painting, most cartoonists copied his artwork.
Famous mural paintings
In classical civilizations, a mural painting was a more popular form of art including those in the palaces of Minos, Egyptian tombs, Greek temples or the Ancient Roman domestic houses. Outside Rome, murals were popular among the Christian art, especially in the catacombs. In the Pompeii excavation, for example, a Roman mural painter was merely an interior decorator.
With the collapse on Rome in the 5th century, mural painting seemed to have vanished in the larger Europe except in Constantinople. Nevertheless, in the 14th-16th century, there was an explosion of mural art during the Renaissance in Florence.
In summary, Diego Rivera brought mural art to a new level in the early 20th Century using drawings of post-impressionism and cubism. In this period, political suppression was a common thing in Europe. Rivera helped popularize mural art in Central America, Europe, US, and Mexico. His work influenced the leftist movement. The mural wall paintings focused on social and political messages. You can compare this to modern graffiti.
