Rosete Montiel Mara de los ngeles

Valle Gracia Andrea Montserrat

Surrealism in Mexico
1924 was the year when Andr Breton published the Surrealist Manifesto, in which he and
other poets expressed the need of a new kind of art, especially after World War I. Breton,
influenced by Freuds work about psychoanalysis, aspired to free the imagination by
accessing the subconscious mind through techniques such as automatic drawing 1. Paris was
the capital of the movement, but when the Second World War begun most of the artists
emigrated to America.
Some people see the Dada movement as a precursor to Surrealism, since they both
relished the possibilities of chance and spontaneity. 2 However, Surrealism was less
concerned with political issues and more focused on a positive philosophy 3. Some of the
characteristics of the surrealist painting are the animation of unanimated objects, parts of
the human body, metamorphosis, symbols, oneiric realities and chaos.

Surrealism in Mexico

The artistic movement in Mexico started to grow some years later, with Frida Kahlo,
Leonora Carrington, Mara Izquierdo and Remedios Varo as the most representative women
artists of this period. What helped this movement to grow in Mexico was the great number
of exiled surrealist artists that came from Europe and influenced the young artists. The first
gallery presenting only surrealist paintings in Mexico was commissioned by Breton
himself, and was held on January 17th, 1940. Octavio Paz was one of the most important
defenders of the movement.

1 Arte: la gua visual definitiva (1900-1945)

2 Surrealism - Art History 101 Basics. Early 1920s to the Present.
3 Surrealism: Origins, Influences, History, Characteristics of Surrealist Art Movement,
Founded by Andre Breton. Dulce Mara Cruz Puebla , Surrealismo en Mxico. Revista de
Revistas,Publicaciones Exelsior. 1996. No 4443. pp. 28-29.

Rosete Montiel Mara de los ngeles

Valle Gracia Andrea Montserrat

In general, Mexican surrealist paintings follow the same pattern as the rest of the
surrealist paintings found in Europe, but there are details that distinguish it, such as the
vibrant colors in them and even the portraying of elements of the Mexican culture.

Mexican Muralism
Mexican Muralism was the major art movement in Mexico during the 20th Century 4 and
was born in 1913; it was the result of a chaotic time in the country, a few years after the
revolutionary war started. The political situation was still unstable and what the artists
wanted was to unify the country to create a national identity 5. The main topics in the
paintings are the Mexican revolution, Mexican history and a critical view of the politics of
the time.
The first modern mural was painted by Gerardo Murillo, who thought that Mexican
art should reflect Mexican life6 This idea permeated most of the works that were later
painted by the three most important figures of the movement: Jos Clemente Orozco, Diego
Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Even though they are all considered muralists, each
one had his own beliefs and positions concerning Mexican politics, and therefore their work
cannot be placed into the same category with specific characteristics. Rivera, for example,
painted an idealized version of the revolution, since he was living in Europe at the time and
never lived the actual conflict; Orozco, in the other hand, painted the devastation that the
revolution left and is a very harsh critic of the time. 7
Lesser known women muralists also had a great participation in the movement.
Elena Huerta and Aurora Reyes Flores are the most important of the time. Reyes is usually
4,7 Mainero del Castillo, Luz Elena. El muralismo y la Revolucin Mexicana.
Instituto Nacional de Estudios Histricos de las Revoluciones de Mxico. 2013
5 Arte: la gua visual definitiva (1900-1945)
6 Anonymous. The Mexican Muralist Movement. San Bernardino County
Museum. 2009.
7

Rosete Montiel Mara de los ngeles

Valle Gracia Andrea Montserrat

considered to be the first woman muralist, and she was not only a painter, she also liked to
write poetry and was Frida Kahlos friend8. Huerta was one of the few artists who lived
through the conflict, and in her paintings she portrays post-revolutionary Mexico and the
ideals she believed in; most of her work is in Coahuila, where she was born and raised. 9
There are also the Greenwood sisters, who are considered by James Oles, in his book, Las
Hermanas Greenwood en Mxico, the first women muralists in Mexico. During three years
(from 1933 to 1936) they painted five murals in the country, and although they did not stay
in Mexico after that, they were certainly an example to many other women.

Bibliography:
Anonymous. The Mexican Muralist Movement. San Bernardino County Museum.
2009.

http://www.sbcounty.gov/museum/media/press-kit/contretas/contreras-media-kit-

mural-tradition.pdf
Anonymous. Surrealism - Art History 101 Basics. Early 1920s to the Present.
http://arthistory.about.com/od/modernarthistory/a/Surrealism-Art-History-101Basics.htm
Anonymous. Surrealism: Origins, Influences, History, Characteristics of Surrealist
Art Movement, Founded by Andre Breton. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-ofart/surrealism.htm#techniques
Cruz Puebla, Dulce Mara. Surrealismo en Mxico. Revista de Revistas,
Publicaciones

Exelsior.

1996.

No

4443.

pp.

http://www.angelfire.com/mb/danicito/surreali.htm
8 Zuiga Vzquez, Araceli. Espiral en retorno: Aurora Reyes.
9 Lpez Herrera, Sigfredo. Elena Huerta: El muralismo, su mayor aportacin a
Coahuila. El Diario de Coahuila, 2010.

28-29.

Rosete Montiel Mara de los ngeles

Valle Gracia Andrea Montserrat

Lpez Herrera, Sigfredo. Elena Huerta: El muralismo, su mayor aportacin a

Coahuila.

El

Diario

de

Coahuila,

2010

http://www.eldiariodecoahuila.com.mx/notas/2010/7/19/sociales-187834.asp
Mainero del Castillo, Luz Elena. El muralismo y la Revolucin Mexicana.
Instituto Nacional de Estudios Histricos de las Revoluciones de Mxico. 2013
http://www.inehrm.gob.mx/Portal/PtMain.php?pagina=exp-muralismo-en-la-revolucionarticulo
Mohun, Janet Ed. Arte: La gua visual definitiva 1900-1945. Espaa: Dorling
Kindersley, 2010
Zuiga

Vzquez,

Araceli.

Espiral

http://www.escaner.cl/escaner86/mutaciones.html

en

retorno:

Aurora

Reyes.