A Brief History of Murals

What is a mural?  Murals are large scale paintings executed directly on walls, ceilings, floors and other large flat, convex or concave surfaces.  The word mural originates from the Latin word “murus”, meaning wall.  They are presumed to be the oldest human art form, as indicated by cave paintings found all over the world. Murals are expensive and executing one takes a significant time. Often sponsors must fund a project.

Brief history of murals:  Mural painting dates back at least 40,000 years to the Upper Paleolithic. Examples include: a cave complex in Sulawesi, Indonesia where prehistoric finds date to at least 39,900 years old;  30,000 BC the earliest paintings in the Chauvet, Niaux and Lascaux caves France;  Egyptian tombs in 3150 BC,  Minoan places 1700-1600 BC, and Pompeii 100 BC-AD 79. A colorful, well-preserved "mural tomb," where a military commander and his wife were likely buried nearly 1,500 years ago, has been uncovered in China.

These ancient murals were ‘painted’ with whatever materials, always natural, were available at the time. Mural painting has been in constant evolution over the years, and it continues to evolve to incorporate the use of modern materials and pictures.

Techniques

A fresco painting, from the Italian word affresco which derives from the adjective fresco ("fresh"), describes a method in which the paint is applied on plaster on walls or ceilings.

The buon fresco technique consists of painting in pigment mixed with water on a thin layer of wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster. The pigment is then absorbed by the wet plaster; after a number of hours, the plaster dries and reacts with the air: it is this chemical reaction which fixes the pigment particles in the plaster. The painting exists up to centuries in fresh and brilliant colors.

Fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster (secco is "dry" in Italian). The pigments thus require a binding medium, such as egg (tempera), glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall.

Mezzo-fresco is painted on nearly-dry plaster, and was defined by the sixteenth-century author Ignazio Pozzo as "firm enough not to take a thumb-print" so that the pigment only penetrates slightly into the plaster. By the end of the sixteenth century this had largely displaced the buon fresco method, and was used by painters such as Gianbattista Tiepolo or Michelangelo. This technique had, in reduced form, the advantages of a secco work.

Kerala mural painting depicts Hindu mythology and legends.

Other known materials used in mural paintings are tempera, oil painting (one of the easiest, yet opaque methods), acrylic painting, painting using brush, roller or airbrush/aerosol. Sometimes, when finished, the murals can be given coats of varnish or protective acrylic glaze to protect the work from UV rays and surface damage.  

Qualified muralists demonstrate a remarkably wide range of skills required to meet the special needs of murals. Good mural artists will consider their mural in relation to the mural's natural or architectural setting, allowing the piece to become an aesthetic, social, and most importantly, cultural, artifact.

More recently, artists have introduced digital techniques of mural painting, such as wallscapes.

Murals today are painted in a variety of ways, using oil or water-based media. The styles can vary from abstract to trompe-l'œil (a French term for "fool" or "trick the eye"). Tile murals are murals made out of stone, ceramic, porcelain, glass and or metal tiles that are installed within, or added onto the surface of an existing wall. They are also inlaid into floors. Mosaic murals are made by combining small 1/4" to 2" size pieces of colorful stone, ceramic, or glass tiles which are then laid out to create a picture.

The azulejo refers to a typical form of Portuguese or Spanish painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tilework. These are typical of Portuguese culture and depict over five centuries the consecutive trends in art and chronicle major historical and cultural aspects of Portuguese history. Azulejos can be found inside and outside churches, palaces, ordinary houses and even railway stations or subway stations. They are used not only as an ornamental art form, but also function as temperature control in homes.

Impact of Murals / Art and Politics:   Murals are also a communication tool, bringing art to the public. Their purpose is to paint a picture of society, created from stories, values, dreams, and change. They are true cultural artifacts and can be monumental works.

The art of muralism flourished during the 1920s, after the Mexican revolution when muralism first became yoked directly to politics by the socialist government that emerged victorious after the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20. Murals entered a new dimension as a powerful visual communication tool, promoting public opinions and transmitting social and political messages.

Through the large paintings of “the great three”: Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, mural painting became the most important form of expression, often the subject of controversy and always a symbol of solidarity, freedom and hope. The Mexican mural art inspired the creation of many other similar movements around the world, the biggest being the Chicano art movement in the 1960s.

Mexican artist Enrique Chiu has been working with more than 3,800 volunteers to paint uplifting messages of peace that, once completed, will stretch in segments from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Their ‘canvas’ is unconventional: they are painting a mural on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border in response to US president Donald Trump’s 2016 election pledge to build a ‘big, beautiful wall’ between the two countries. A work of art and activism emblematic of our time, the mural speaks not only of division and the universal experience of migration but of resilience and hope. It also evokes a rich lineage of political wall art.

The muralists of the African-American Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and ’70s achieved just that, painting portraits of heroes and heroines of Black history in majority-Black neighborhoods. These tributary works, like The Wall of Respect in Chicago (1967-71), used the medium for political commemoration and historical literacy. Across the Atlantic, civilians were likewise painting the Western face of the Berlin Wall until its fall in 1989, while almost 2,000 murals appeared in the Northern Irish cities of Belfast and Derry during the years of The Troubles (1968–98). If murals serve as mirrors of political change, then the 20th century’s tumultuous struggles have been widely reflected

The political nature of walls themselves – separating, as they do, nations and ideologies, the public arena from the private – makes them an invocation to artistic expression. Political convictions like environmentalism and feminism are not bound by national borders; nor are the forms of authoritarianism that right-wing populism, nationalism and religious fundamentalism embolden. Yet, while resistance movements today may have international reach and resources, the bright future they envisage can still very much be seen written on the wall.

Street art started with simple graphics and texts. The idea was to spread a message and not so much to create something that would be visually pleasing, but instead be thought-provoking. Early examples of street art can be traced back to 1955 shortly after the death of Charlie Parker, a famous jazz musician also known as Yardbird or Bird.

On the other hand, graffiti is ad-hoc. Graffiti can contain political messages in an oppressed society or be a tribute to someone or something. Graffiti is usually text-based and rarely ever uses elaborate colors and images, unlike street art. Graffiti artists typically use spray paints or even pen markers.

These three forms of urban art are related through their messaging of social expression. Murals thousands of years ago depicted what society was like and were eventually used to spread social and political messages. Street art is sanctioned as public artworks. Artists may make public statements about society and politics. Graffiti’s origins are in rebellion and fighting against an oppressive society. Differences in the three types of artwork can also come down to the techniques and tools used. Street artists typically don’t have any limitation and are free to use what they’re comfortable with, whereas mural painters often use long-lasting paints that are resistant to weather effects and often have a wider choice of tools and colors.

*** Information taken from various websites and references.