Jose Vasconcelas, Mexico’s first Minister of Education following the country’s revolution, saw the value of public art as a vehicle to foster civic pride and national spirit. Thus, he commissioned a series of murals throughout Mexico City to convey cultural ideals and instill a strong sense of community for a country still recovering from conflict. (...)
Jose Vasconcelas, Mexico’s first Minister of Education following the country’s revolution, saw the value of public art as a vehicle to foster civic pride and national spirit. Thus, he commissioned a series of murals throughout Mexico City to convey cultural ideals and instill a strong sense of community for a country still recovering from conflict. The most complete surviving mural is the masterpiece entitled The Feast of the Holy Cross, originally titled The Reconstruction of Mexico by Workers and Intellects, by Roberto Montenegro, an artist and pioneer of the twentieth century Mexican muralist movement. Painted in 1923-24, the mural decorates the main stairwell of the ex-convent of San Pedro y Pablo in the historic center of Mexico City.
