Jose Clemente Orozco might have a close connection to Guadalajara, the city where he lived for a long time and where some of the most famous murals of Orozco are. But in the capital there is also a lot of his paintings waiting to be discovered.
The big Mexican muralists (Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Orozco) have left a huge mark on their country. Their often politically motivated work, often also paid for by the governments, can be found all across Mexico City. Siqueiros has his own site (the Polyforum, next to the World Trade Center), Rivera built a museum full of artefacts (Anahuacalli, in the southern parts of the city).
But these three painters can be found on many more places, often together, sometimes with individual works. A good place to start is the Museo de Arte Moderno, in Chapultepec park. There is a range of impressive paintings of all three of them there.
Another collection of paintings can be found at the Arte Carrillo Gil. Almost all the works there were intended for an exhibition in Chile, but because of a coup there the event was cancelled and the works remained in Mexico City.
The Palacio de Bellas Artes is another obvious place. The gold-domed building has a huge atrium with several massive murals of Orozco, Siqueiros and Rivera. The temporary exhibitions there are worth the while as well of course.
But let’s focus on Orozco. Because close to the Bellas Artes is the Museo Nacional de Arte, a dark and impressive building. For me personal, one of his most impressive paintings is being presented there. Called Cabeza Flechada, it is a striking and extremely violent painting of an old man.
There is much more haunted work of Orozco of course. In the Hospital de Jesus in the city center one can find his (unfinished) apocalypse murals. At San Ildefonso College he has more massive works on all three levels. One wonders where he got the time to paint all of these. Especially when you have seen his massive murals in the Hospicio Cabanas in Guadalajara.
Anyway, that should be a good overview for exploring Orozco artworks in Mexico City. If something is missing though, don’t be shy and add in the comments!
