Alfaro Siqueiros–Mexico

David Alfaro Siqueiros was a Mexican painter and muralist whose work reflected his Marxist ideology.

Synopsis

In 1922, David Alfaro Siqueiros painted frescoes on the walls of the National Preparatory School and began organizing and leading unions of artists and workingmen. His Communist activities led to numerous jailings and periods of exile. He produced thousands of square feet of wall paintings in which numerous social, political and industrial changes were portrayed from a left-wing perspective.

Early Years

The son of a bourgeois family, painter David Alfaro Siqueiros was born in Chihuahua City, Mexico, on December 29, 1896. In 1908 he went to Mexico City to study art and architecture at the Franco-English College. 

His schooling came at an interesting time in Mexican history. In 1910 the Mexican Revolution erupted, and a newly politicized Siqueiros became involved in student strikes. The following year he led a successful student strike at the San Carlos Academy that changed the school's teaching methods. 

At the age of 18 Siqueiros joined the Mexican Revolution Army, eventually attaining the rank of captain. He also joined the Communist Party and worked to undermine Mexico's new military dictator, Victoriano Huerta.

His life and work seemed to bounce between acceptance and repudiation. During the 1920s and early 1930s Siqueiros was jailed often for his political work. Yet in 1922 he was commissioned to paint what may be his most famous mural, "Los Mitos" (The Myths") at the National Preparatory School. 

In the 1930s, Siqueiros came to the United States and worked in Los Angeles. His murals there told the story of America's forceful relationship with Latin America. His work also took him to South America and then back to New York, where he opened up a school for young artists. The students included Jackson Pollock, then just starting out.