Comparison And Contrast Of Orozco And Rivera’s Murals Essay Examples

Orozco’s The Working Class (1926), which is located at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, reflects the plight of the working class in Mexico. In the mural, Orozco used contrast in color to create a distinct line between black (lower half) and red (upper half). Orozco’s color palette in the mural represents the colors of revolution. The subjects of the mural reflect the oppression of the working class since the poor are bent with their heads bowed down. It reflects the lowly position of the working class in Mexican society. Rivera’s The Agitator (1926) also depicted an uprising among the mine workers in South Africa. Nonetheless, unlike Orozco, Rivera is a social realist, which shows in the mural. While Orozco’s The Working Class show faceless workers with their heads behind the audience, bent and lowly, Rivera’s The Agitator depict the miners’ uprising against the government in a manner that shows the valor and courage of these people. Hence, while both murals show the use of contrasting and bold colors, the difference is that Orozco’s mural is a subdued form of illustrating the situation of the poor while Rivera’s The Agitator show the oppressed in a valiant manner.
Orozco’s Zapatistas (1931) reflect loyal “Zapatistas” or followers of Emiliano Zapata, a revolutionary who fought for peasants and founded the agrarian movement. Orozco’s use of contrast is prevalent in Zapatistas. He used colors such as red, blue, and white creating the distinction while focusing on white to show the atmosphere and mood in the mural. Rivera’s Distribution of the Land (1923) also illustrates contrast and the artist also uses white as a means to depict the event being portrayed in the mural – a festival during which land was distributed among the peasants. The main difference between the two murals is that Orozco’s Zapatista’s illustrated the Zapatista’s somber mood after Zapata’s passing. Rivera’s Distribution of the Land, on the other hand, illustrate the victorious moment depicted in the mural where people were able to receive land owed to them by the government.
Overall, both Orozco and Rivera use art to make a statement in support of social causes and to reflect the ills of society including oppression and poverty. Both artists employ similar techniques but they also depict different social phenomena in their works.