Tenochtitlan Analysis

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Tenochtitlan Cindy Thach Read 104 In 1945, prominent Mexican artist Diego Rivera produced a huge fresco mural entitles “Tenochtitlan.” Tenochtitlan is the capital city of the Aztecs that held about 200,000 people, the majority of them were poor. Rivera was always very fond of working class heroes. Rivera expresses his opinions on what work is through his illustration in his mural Tenochtitlan. Before the pre-Columbian era, the city of Tenochtitlan was known for great wealth, having beautifully structures pyramids, markets and arrays of food. The Aztecs prospered Tenochtitlan into this beautiful place with their hard labor and dedication. Rivera’s mural shows a tribe doing various work activities. Teamwork is shown clearly in…show more content…
His mural “Tenochtitlan” looks like it is taken place in a village outside because everyone looks like a community based on the way they are dressed. The two people that are dressed wealthier on the left must be the chief and queen of the tribe. They are observing the workers while they are making some sort of art. The three woman with the babies are doing less labor then the men. One woman in the back is just cleaning or doing laundry a typical woman job. Teamwork is shown clearly, the villagers are working together to make blankets to sell. Each group was assigned different work task; first group had to get cotton, second had to make the colors and third had to resemble the product. The Chief is holding a scroll, which he is giving instructions on what the blanket should look like to his people. The illustration shows hard labor but it seems like they are getting treated well. The conclusion is that this is a tribe and that they are working to together so they can…show more content…
His mural “Disembarkation of the Spanish vane Cruz” looks like it takes place in a base camp. It shows that men with white faces are overruling with men with brown faces. A Mexican villager is illustrated kneeling down to a priest. The Spaniards weren’t just there to take over land but to spread conversations of Christianity. Rivera’s details sadness, defeat and anger in his drawings of the villagers. According to the murals name I’m assuming that the city of Veracruz is taken over by the Spanish conquestidors. There’s a visual of multiple people getting hanged, men are getting whipped while doing labor work. Workers were getting disciplined for lack of work or disobedience. A Spaniard solider is grinning while shoving something in a villagers mouth. Two men are making a deal in the bottom, buying more slave perhaps because to make up for the ones killed. Rivera illustrates death and torture through this mural a lot to show severe the war impacted the

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