Patricians and Patricides, Political mural in Old Customs Buildings, Mexico City, Mexico.
Patricians and Patricides is a mural covering multiple walls of the Old Customs Buildings, rendered in bold colors and dynamic compositions. The surfaces display figurative scenes and elements created through industrial materials and bold formal techniques.
The work was completed by David Alfaro Siqueiros in 1944 during a period when the Mexican government supported public art in the aftermath of the Revolution. This timing reflected the broader movement toward using murals as a platform for social messaging.
The work presents contrasts between the wealthy and working people through their visual representation and positioning within the composition. Visitors can observe how these social tensions are expressed through the arrangement and characterization of the figures depicted.
The mural is publicly accessible inside the Old Customs Buildings in the central district, situated near major transportation connections throughout the city. The location is easily reached by public transit and positioned close to other central attractions.
Siqueiros employed chemical pigments and synthetic materials to create textures that redefined mural painting techniques of the 1940s. This experimental approach allowed for effects that were impossible with traditional methods of the time.
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