ABSTRACT
A generally agreed upon definition of a mural is a monumental and foremost two-dimensional art form that is designed for display on a wall. Etymologically the word mural goes back to the Latin expression “murus” signifying wall. Muralism in the Americas is the result of intense artistic exchanges in public art between the South and the North. On a technical level, the first murals were made encaustically and it was Jean Charlot who taught the muralists in Mexico City the fresco technique using Renaissance models. The Mexican muralist movement was pivotal for the spread of public wall-painting in the early decades of the 20th century. In reviving and advancing the art of fresco painting, the Mexican muralists created the chief model for a widely followed return to mural painting. The major figure for spreading Mexican muralism and promoting the political function of public art throughout Latin America was certainly Siqueiros.
