Art in Mexico

In Mexico City, visit the Anthropology Museum to see the amazing art produced by all the diverse ancient cultures of (what is today) Mexico, and a short distance away, the amazing ancient city of Teotihuacan, and an early mission church with gorgeous frescoes and an Atrial cross at Acolman.

videos + essays

Diego Rivera, third floor murals of the Secretaría de Educación Pública
Diego Rivera, third floor murals of the Secretaría de Educación Pública

For Rivera, the third floor murals of the SEP served as a tool to promote postrevolutionary Mexico and international socialism.

<em>The Lord of Las Limas</em>
The Lord of Las Limas

Incised symbols on the Lord of Las Limas hint at the spiritual significance of this ancient Olmec sculpture.

<i>Códice Maya de México</i><br>Getty Conversations
Códice Maya de México
Getty Conversations

The Códice Maya de México is a remarkable testament to the complexity of Maya astronomy.

Miguel de Herrera, <em>Portrait of a Lady</em>
Miguel de Herrera, Portrait of a Lady

Taking inspiration from European portraits, this painting shows off the wealth of the sitter in colonial Mexico with her elaborate fashion

La Casa del Deán in Puebla
La Casa del Deán in Puebla

What remains of the Casa del Deán is an outstanding example of renaissance architecture and murals made in the viceroyalty of New Spain.

Puebla de los Ángeles and the classical architectural tradition
Puebla de los Ángeles and the classical architectural tradition

The importance of classical architecture to Puebla’s 16th- and 17th-century colonial history helps to reframe our understanding of the renaissance as it has been traditionally understood.

<em>Screen with the Siege of Belgrade and Hunting Scene</em> (or <em>Brooklyn Biombo</em>)
Screen with the Siege of Belgrade and Hunting Scene (or Brooklyn Biombo)

Japanese objects came through Mexico on their way to Spain, and had a lasting impact on the arts of the Americas.

Diego Rivera, first and second floor murals of the Secretaría de Educación Pública
Diego Rivera, first and second floor murals of the Secretaría de Educación Pública

Diego Rivera's enormous mural cycle at the Ministry of Public Education celebrates Mexico: its festivals, its industries, and its people in over 100 panels

Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz, <em>Christ Consoled by Angels</em>
Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz, Christ Consoled by Angels

An 18th-century painting from New Spain visualizes Christ's suffering in New Spain

El Tajín
El Tajín

El Tajin has survived as an outstanding example of the grandeur and importance of the pre-Hispanic cultures of Mexico.

Rock paintings of Sierra de San Francisco
Rock paintings of Sierra de San Francisco

From c. 100 B.C.E. to 1300 C.E., the Sierra de San Francisco was home to a people who left one of the most outstanding collections of rock paintings in the world.

Xochicalco
Xochicalco

Xochicalco is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a fortified political, religious and commercial centre from the troubled period of 650–900