David Alfaro Siqueiros (School of/Student of)

David Alfaro Siqueiros (born December 29, 1896) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public mural using the latest in equipment, materials, and technique. With Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco, he was one of the most famous of the Mexican muralists. Most of Siqueiros' large murals are in government buildings in Mexico. His murals are distinguished by dynamism and compositional movement, monumental size, sculptural treatment of forms, and a limited color range that is subordinated to dramatic effects of light and shadow. Siqueiros and his followers produced vivid wall paintings in which numerous social, political, and industrial changes were portrayed from a left-wing perspective. He was a member of the Mexican Communist Party and his art reflected Marxist political ideology. The artist's military travels around Mexico exposed him to Mexican culture and the everyday struggles of the working and rural poor classes. Siqueiros believed that his artistic and political concerns were intricately intertwined. In the manifesto "A New Direction for the New Generation of American Painters and Sculptors," he called for a "spiritual renewal" to simultaneously bring back the virtues of classical painting while infusing this style with "new values" that acknowledged the "modern machine" and the "contemporary aspects of daily life." In his work the artist sought a social realism and represented the peasant and the worker. Siqueiros was known for making art that was easily read by the public, especially the lower classes.