Mural: The Zapotec and Mixtec Civilization, Palacio Nacional de Mexico

Diego Rivera
1945



The third polychrome panel in the Corridor

The Zapotec and Mixtec cultures in the state of Oaxaca developed the art of designing with feathers as well the art of jewelry making with fine metals. In the background figures are panning for precious metals--gold? In the right foreground the metal technology is depicted. The official guide says that they used the lost wax method.
 

The middle ground: men with elaborate feathered headdresses

Both dignitaries examine themselves in mirrors with carved backs.
 

Left: artists designing with feathers; middle and right: metal technology

 

The grisailles from left to right: mining; carving; the jade trade



Continue to page 7: The Totonac Civilization.


Works Consulted or Quoted:
Goldman, Shifra M. Dimensions of the Americas: Art and Social Change in Latin American and the United States. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1994.
Luis-Martín Lozano and Juan Rafael Coronel Rivera. Diego Rivera: The Complete Murals. Taschen, 2009.
Antonio Rodríguez. Diego Rivera: Mural Painting. Mexico City: Fondo Editorial de la Plástica Mexicana, 1988.
Official guide [pamphlet] at site.



Go to Rivera Murals Index.


Go to the Mexico Index.

Click here to return to index of art historical sites.

Click here to return to index of artists and architects.

Click here to return to chronological index.

Click here to see the home page of Bluffton University.


© 2010 Mary Ann Sullivan. I have photographed (on site), scanned, and manipulated all the images on these pages. Please feel free to use them for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes.